Enmax Bills

[Hockeyguy15]

You can change every 30 days, I just check monthly and see if I need to change. Recently I have been leaving it on the a year fixed plan but before it would either be floating or the 1 year fixed. Why pay more if you don't have to?

[Coys1882]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

It looks like the rates have been at the cap of 6.8 for 11 of the past 23 months. The unknown, however, is how high would those rates have been without the cap.

https://ucahelps.alberta.ca/regulated-rates.aspx

It's all there pal! It shows the month the RRO was capped and what it would have been without it.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Hockeyguy15

You can change every 30 days, I just check monthly and see if I need to change. Recently I have been leaving it on the a year fixed plan but before it would either be floating or the 1 year fixed. Why pay more if you don't have to?

I assume that the rate at which you could lock in also varies, correct? So if you unlock, you may have to lock in at a higher rate next time? I guess that could work the other way as well and you may get a better rate when you lock in again.

[Jimmy Stang]

Originally Posted by Coys1882

https://ucahelps.alberta.ca/regulated-rates.aspx

It's all there pal! It shows the month the RRO was capped and what it would have been without it.

Thank you. It is quite clear that locking in at any of the rates Enmax has offered me is likely better than the un-capped floating rate over time (barring a dramatic drop in electricity prices). I guess the question now is the term and how much I want to pay attention to the market prices.

[Hockeyguy15]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

I assume that the rate at which you could lock in also varies, correct? So if you unlock, you may have to lock in at a higher rate next time? I guess that could work the other way as well and you may get a better rate when you lock in again.

No I haven't seen the 1, 3 or 5 year rates change at all, they have been 5.89/6.29/6.59 since I can remember.

In theory I'm sure they could change them but I assume it would be leaked before it happened and you could lock in accordingly.

[mrkajz44]

I decided to lock-in based on the announcement, but am keeping an eye on it. I have no real knowledge on it, but worry that with no cap that prices could really go high. It seems like a pretty low risk proposition to lock-in relatively low for 5 years to protect potentially high prices.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by mrkajz44

I decided to lock-in based on the announcement, but am keeping an eye on it. I have no real knowledge on it, but worry that with no cap that prices could really go high. It seems like a pretty low risk proposition to lock-in relatively low for 5 years to protect potentially high prices.

The 30 day rolling average for the pool price is just under 6¢/kwh.

The only thing that will really change that is the retirement of the coal fleet.

[Jimmy Stang]

Well I have decided to lock in for 1 year at 5.89, as that simple act would have saved money on every single month in 2019. 2018 would have been more like 50/50. I'll keep a closer eye on the market each month and see if it is worth playing around a bit with it, but because there is no penalty to jump back and forth, there is very little to lose by locking in. Especially considering the removal of the cap, the historical rates from the 12-18 months, etc.

Thanks for the discussion, links, and advice. I have usually found the floating rate to be fine, especially since I can't be bothered to tinker month to month. But I can surely glance at the market rates once a month or two to see what's going on. There is no downside signing on to a lower than current market rate with the ability to jump back at my leisure with no penalty.

[Fuzz]

I've been holding off, as I have Easymax that provides about $200/ year in rebates, and half the current admin rate on gas. If I switch to anything it looks like I lose that, and the small change is electrical rates for me doesn't make much sense.

[DoubleK]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I've been holding off, as I have Easymax that provides about $200/ year in rebates, and half the current admin rate on gas. If I switch to anything it looks like I lose that, and the small change is electrical rates for me doesn't make much sense.

This is my quandary as well.

[GrrlGoalie33]

Jumping in at the end here, but Easymax does allow you to go on budget billing (your bill is the same every month, and if you go over you catch up at the end of the 12 month cycle. If you pay for more than you use, it is applied to your account as a credit.

[tvp2003]

Originally Posted by Fuzz

I've been holding off, as I have Easymax that provides about $200/ year in rebates, and half the current admin rate on gas. If I switch to anything it looks like I lose that, and the small change is electrical rates for me doesn't make much sense.

How much do you typically get in Easymax Rewards credit per month? My last bill was only $8.68 in credit, plus the discounted (0.47/GJ) transaction fee.

Currently being offered 5.79c / KwH for a three year term, plus $150 bill credit.

[InglewoodFan]

Holy snapping arseholes. Just got my Enmax bill, 13.4 cents/kWh for Dec 16 - Jan 19. Nothing like your power costs doubling month to month. Think I will swing over to the locked in rate too.

[Tyler]

Ooof my January Enmax bill just crushed me

[Hockeyguy15]

Damn. I wanted to re-lock in at 5.89 for the year before they changed it, now the 1 year rate is 6.29.

[Calgary14]

Highest bill ever from Enmax, over $400 for the month. Ouch

[Cecil Terwilliger]

God I hate Enmax. It’s like everything they do is intended to be as unclear and vague as possible.

And what’s with their bull#### “Green Offset”. They phrase it like you’re getting something but I’m pretty sure it’s just an extra $5/10/15 added to your bill for no reason except “green”.

[Dan02]

My electricity charge is only 22.5% of my bill, the other 77.5% is all charges, riders and fees. Surely it could be a little simpler.

[accord1999]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

And what’s with their bull#### “Green Offset”. They phrase it like you’re getting something but I’m pretty sure it’s just an extra $5/10/15 added to your bill for no reason except “green”.

Isn't that what are offsets are? A way to pay for your sins of using carbon fuel energy and where supposedly the offset will pay for new trees or new renewable generation.

[Fire]

Originally Posted by Dan02

My electricity charge is only 22.5% of my bill, the other 77.5% is all charges, riders and fees. Surely it could be a little simpler.

If they are really serious about reducing consumption then 100% of the bill needs to be directly related to your usage. Do it in a way so they get the same amount of money on their end but also rewards people that actually use less electricity.