The short version: an Alberta electricity bill has two halves. The energy half (set by your retailer) is what you pay per kWh consumed, plus an optional monthly admin fee. The delivery half (set by AUC-approved tariffs) is everything else — transmission, distribution, fixed customer charge, riders, local access fee, balancing pool allocation, and GST. Switching retailers changes the energy half. The delivery half is fixed regardless.
The belief that gets people upset
"My bill is way higher than the rate I signed for." Yes, because the rate you signed for only covers half the bill — and on a small home, the fixed delivery portion can be the larger share. A retailer cannot offer "no delivery charge" because delivery is a regulated cost the distributor passes through. Understanding this stops a lot of post-signing surprise.
Every line on a typical bill
| Line | Who sets it | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| Energy charge | Retailer | Your contract rate (¢/kWh) × kWh consumed. The only line your retailer fully controls. |
| Monthly admin fee | Retailer | Flat monthly charge in some contracts. Bundled into the all-in comparison. |
| Transmission charges | AESO via your distributor | The cost of moving electricity from generators across high-voltage lines. |
| Distribution charges | Distributor (AUC-regulated) | The cost of running the local network — substations, transformers, wires to your meter. |
| Fixed customer charge | Distributor | Flat monthly charge regardless of usage. Covers metering and customer service costs. |
| Rate riders and adjustments | AUC-approved true-ups | Small one-line corrections that show up between rate cases. |
| Local access fee | Municipality | Municipal franchise fee charged on the energy portion. Varies by city — material in some places, small in others. |
| Balancing Pool allocation | Provincial | Adjustment for legacy power-purchase arrangement costs. Can be a credit or a charge. |
| GST | Federal | Five percent on the total of the above. |
Tool: see the split of your monthly bill
Plug in your monthly kWh, energy rate, and an estimate of the all-in delivery rate from your bill. The tool shows you how the bill divides between energy (retailer-influenced) and delivery (fixed).
Green is the half you can shop. Amber is the delivery half that does not change with your retailer choice.
The non-obvious thing about small homes
A small apartment with 300 kWh of monthly use can have a delivery share above 60 percent of the bill, because the fixed customer charge does not shrink with your usage. A $28 fixed delivery charge per month on a $50 bill is 56 percent before you even consume a kWh. This is why "save 20 percent by switching" claims are unrealistic for small users — the math caps your possible savings at the energy share of your bill.
A large house with 1,500 kWh of monthly use sees the inverse: energy charges scale with use, while the fixed delivery charge stays constant, so the energy share approaches 60 to 70 percent. That is where real savings from a competitive contract show up.
What this means for your household
- Identify the two halves on your bill. Energy is the only half you can shop.
- Small users save less by switching, in absolute dollars and as a percentage of the bill.
- Variations in delivery between months are usually riders, not your usage. Check the line items.
- Move-related fixed charges (re-connection, account setup) are one-time. They are not a sign of bad service.
