How To Find Out What Gas Company You Are With

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How practice I observe my electricity or natural gas supplier?

Who is my energy provider? Sooner or later, you will need to know where your energy comes from. Whether you're moving to a new home or just want to sign up with some other electricity or natural gas supplier, you volition have to detect out who your energy provider is.

The natural gas bills. Your average kilowatt-hour (kWh) usage. The electricity supplier … Some things seem so simple that we don't even think about them in day-to-day life. Well, at least until you need to face those questions.

If you're having problem trying to find who is your natural gas or energy supplier in Alberta, you volition demand to take a expect at some specific details on your monthly energy bills. But don't worry, EnergyRates.ca volition brand it piece of cake for you, and show you the well-nigh straightforward ways you tin can find out who provides you lot with free energy.

Who provides energy in Alberta?

Before you first searching for your energy provider, yous should understand the difference betwixt the wire service provider and the energy supplier (likewise known as the retailer).

In Alberta, two different groups provide energy for homes and businesses: retailers and wire service providers. Each one of them, notwithstanding, take very unlike jobs in that procedure.

Free energy retailers in Alberta

The retailer is the company that sells energy to you lot. Call back of electricity and natural gas as products: The retailer is the visitor that sells yous those products for a specific price. These rates tin change every day and are affected past many factors continued to the energy manufacture, including ecology problems and political decisions.

The retailer is the company that provides you energy. If you want to find out who is your electricity or gas supplier, there volition probably be a logo or brand proper noun on your bill, such as Encor by EPCOR, ENMAX, Direct Energy, ATCO, Spot Ability, etc.

In Alberta, consumers have the freedom to choose who they want to provide them with electricity and natural gas. Such companies fall into two primary categories: the regulated-charge per unit provider (RRO) and competitive provider.

When information technology comes to natural gas and electricity in Alberta, yous can choose to sign upward with different companies or buy such services in an free energy package.

Nonetheless, if this is your first habitation in the province, you are probably with the local regulated provider for each article, also known as the default provider. Each area has a specific regulated provider for gas and electricity, which makes it easier for you to detect who could be your free energy supplier.

For example, in Edmonton, the RRO electricity provider is EPCOR, whereas in Calgary, the default electricity provider is ENMAX. Depending on where you live, the regulated-rate provider could exist the municipality, which is what happens in the City of Lethbridge.

As you larn more about the Alberta energy market, you will first noticing that competitive and regulated retailers ofttimes belong to the same free energy group. Still, they are different companies with unlike plans.

An interesting example of such a difference is the Straight Energy case. Customers nether the competitive Directly Energy plan receive a blue pecker, while consumers under the Directly Energy regulated services receive a pink beak.

Wire service providers in Alberta

The wire service providers (WSP) are the companies responsible for manual and distribution. In other words, these are the companies that move energy from generators to your dwelling.

The transmission charges are related to the costs of transporting electricity from generators to high-voltage local distributors. The distribution charges, on the other hand, come from the costs of bringing energy from the local distributors to your dwelling house at a depression voltage.

Although the costs related to distribution and transmission fees may represent a considerable part of your monthly bills, there isn't much you tin exercise about them. These fees are approved and regulated past the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC).

Seeing that Alberta is a deregulated energy market, many consumers assume that they volition exist able to switch their wire service provider the aforementioned fashion they do with retailers. However, Alberta residents can't change their wire service provider. At that place is a specific WSP for each region in Alberta — and their distribution and transmission rates are the same within that area, as they are wholly regulated whether past the provincial regime, local municipalities or rural boards of directors.

Observe out beneath who approves and regulates the distribution and transmission costs in some Alberta regions.

Distribution rates regulated past the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC):

Calgary
Edmonton

Distribution rates regulated by local municipal governments:

Red Deer
Crowsnest Laissez passer
Lethbridge
Cardston
Ponoka
Fort Macleod

Distribution rates regulated past local boards of directors:

Most rural areas in Alberta

Of import note: The WSP and the energy retailer can exist part of the same grouping, simply can also be totally unlike companies. As an example, any customer in Edmonton will have EPCOR as their wire service provider, only could have any retailer of their pick, such equally ATCO, Directly Free energy or ENMAX, as their free energy supplier.

Usually, electricity and natural gas retailers will let you know in the bills which company is the wire service provider in your region. If your bill doesn't say who'southward the WSP, there are high chances that information technology's the aforementioned equally the default regulated retailer in your expanse, whether for gas or electricity.

I don't know who my energy supplier is. How tin I find out?

Now that you know the deviation betwixt retailer and WSP, you lot're probably asking yourself how to observe who is your energy provider. In gild to effigy it out, get one of your contempo free energy bills and accept a look at two things: the logo or brand name, and the site ID.

The logo or brand name will prove you who the energy supplier is. Normally, you volition detect the logo printed on top of your pecker. In case you want to talk about something related to electricity or natural gas rates, or anything else pertaining to your free energy plan, y'all should call this company.

In order to find out who's the wire service provider, await for a "delivery charges" or a "distribution services provided past" section. The information in this surface area will tell yous who's responsible for transporting electricity and gas into your home.

Beneath, yous can find a sample bill taken from the Direct Energy website. On the example, yous can run across the customer is signed with Directly Energy (the retailer), but their electricity is distributed by ENMAX Power (the wire services provider).

Sample Alberta electricity bill (Prototype adapted from Directly Energy)

What if my utility beak doesn't tell who's the energy benefactor?

Even if your free energy provider doesn't tell who's the WSP in your area, in that location are other ways you can figure it out.

In that case, you volition demand to find the site ID on your pecker. The site ID is a xiii-digit number that every site in Alberta must have. This is a mode power companies institute to place their customer's properties in a unique way. Every property continued to a meter in Alberta has a site ID for electricity and another ane for natural gas. This number is not only a unique identifier for your property; it likewise reveals who is the distributor in your area.

Nigh energy bills come up with the site ID in the top corners of the folio, side by side to your personal information or to the retailer charges. Depending on who's the provider, the site ID will begin with different numbers.

Each distribution company in Alberta has a number. The first digits of your site ID will tell you who'due south the WSP in your surface area. If your pecker comes with an 11-digit site ID, the outset two digits tell you who is the wire service provider. On the other manus, if the site ID on your bill has 13 digits, the commencement four digits will tell y'all who is your WSP.

If you want to notice out what's the energy distribution company in your address, check the table below.

For electricity:

Site ID starts with	Distribution company
0010	ATCO Electrical
0020	ENMAX Power
0030	EPCOR
0040	FORTIS Alberta
0050	Lethbridge
0060	Crowsnest Pass
0070	Red Deer
0080	Ponoka
0090	Fort Macleod
0100	Cardston

For natural gas:

Site ID starts with	Distribution company
0001 or 0003	ATCO Gas
0007	AltaGas Utilities

Quick tip: You can differentiate the electricity site ID from the natural gas site ID quite easily. In nigh cases, the site ID for electricity services begins with one (0) or two zeros (00), whereas, the side ID for natural gas begins with 3 zeros (000).

In case yous still have doubts, check beneath another sample bill. In this example, the client has both their electricity and natural gas provided by ENMAX Free energy. However, based on their site ID, we can run across that the electricity is delivered by ENMAX Power (site ID begins with 0020) while natural gas is distributed by ATCO Gas (site ID begins with 0003).

ENMAX Free energy sample bill (Epitome adapted from ENMAX Energy)

What electric visitor services my address?

In one case you know who'south the energy distributor and the free energy supplier, information technology becomes easier for yous to contact them accordingly. In instance yous have whatsoever distribution service research, here'south a list of the primary distribution visitor trouble calls in Alberta:

ATCO Electric	800-668-5506
ENMAX Power	403-514-6100
EPCOR	780-412-4500
FORTIS Alberta	310-WIRE (9473)
Lethbridge	403-320-3940
Crowsnest Pass	403-562-2021
Red Deer	403-348-5700
Ponoka	403-783-0143
Fort Macleod	403-553-4601
Cardston	403-653-5672
ATCO Gas	800-511-3447
AltaGas Utilities	866-222-2068

How do I observe the cheapest free energy provider?

If yous're not satisfied with your electricity and natural gas bills in Alberta, there is a lot you tin can do to find the best free energy providers in the province.

Whether for electricity or natural gas, you lot tin can compare Alberta energy utilities and their rates at EnergyRates.ca. The website is a cost comparing tool that lets you observe the best current rates for electricity and natural gas providers by postal lawmaking.

Once yous fill up in your Alberta postal code, the website volition list all the major natural gas providers in the province for both floating- and fixed-rate residential plans. Consumers looking for small concern, commercial or industrial electricity and gas suppliers can fifty-fifty get a custom rate comparison report.