Delivery Rates and Charges

The Delivery Charges section of your bill includes the cost of using the transmission and distribution system to deliver electricity to you.

The Distribution Tariff sets out charges for each rate class for using our transmission and distribution system. These charges are billed to your retail supplier who passes them on to you, the consumer. The Tariff has five components:

  1. The Transmission Charge is the charge for using the provincial transmission system. This is a charge from the Alberta Electric System Operator and it is passed on to you.
  2. The Distribution Charge is the charge for our delivery services. This includes:
    • Building, operating, maintaining, upgrading and replacing power lines and facilities
    • 24-hour emergency response and repair
    • Office operations
    • Installing and reading electricity meters
    • Providing consumption and tariff billing information to your retailer
    • Providing safety and energy awareness information
  3. The Local Access Fee, also known as the Municipal Consent and Access Fee (MCAF), is a franchise charge set by The City of Red Deer to access municipal land to construct, operate and maintain distribution systems serving City residents. Each local government sets the fee based on provincial law. While this fee has always been charged, some retailers have started showing this item as “Local Access Fee – Paid to the City of Red Deer” on bills.
  4. The Balancing Pool Allocation is a charge or credit shared by all Alberta electricity consumers as a result of the forecasted surplus or shortfall of the Balancing Pool for the year. Beginning in 2017, this became a cost instead of a credit. 
  5. The Rate Rider is a charge or credit approved by the regulator to manage fluctuations caused by factors outside of The City’s control such as variances and adjustments in provincial transmission costs.

What is a Rate Class?

Every electric site in Red Deer is assigned a rate class based on its service type, size and load information.  These four rate classes make up the majority of our customers.

Rate 61 - Residential: Applies to residential premises which are measured by a single meter and do not have more than two dwelling units.

Rate 63 - General Service: Applies to non-residential customers and to residential premises who do not qualify for Rate 61 and whose kVA metered demand is below 50 kVA and meets certain voltage requirements.

Rate 64 - Large General Service: Applies to commercial and industrial sites which meet the requirements for Rate 63, but whose demand has exceeded 50 kVA.

Rate 78 - Large General Service/Industrial: Applies to sites which are taking service at 4,160 volts or higher and kVA demand is greater than 1,000 kVA. It also applies to those sites who were billed on Rate 78 prior to December 31, 2000 regardless of the KVA Metered Demand.

Rate 83 - Distribution Generation: Applies to generators meeting all of the following requirements:

  • Meets the AESO definition of a Distributed Generator and is connected to distribution voltage.
  • Have an installed bi-directional 15-minute interval meter.

Current Delivery Rates - March 1, 2024

Rate Class 61 63 64 78 81 82 83
System Access (SA)      
Basic Charge ($/day) 0.6445 0.9872          
Basic Charge ($/kVA/day)     0.2891 0.2973 0.5198 0.4932  
Variable Charge ($/kWh) 0.0171 0.0352 0.0163 0.0165 0.0216 0.0206  
Distribution Access (DA)      
Basic Charge ($/day) 0.4400 1.2782         15.00
Basic Charge ($/kVA/day)     0.1060 0.0897 0.1879 0.2109  
Variable Charge ($/kWh) 0.0153 0.0122 0.0082 0.0060 0.0118 0.0174 0.0080
Fees and Riders - Applies to all Rate Classes   
Local Access Fee (%/Total SA & DA)   12.45%
Balancing Pool Allocation ($/kWh)   0.00135
Transmission Rider ($/kWh) 2023 Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
-0.0037
 -0.0037
0.0044
 0.0068
2024 Q1
Q2
Q3
Q4
0.0017

Visit our Tariff Schedules page to view the complete Distribution Tariff, including our Terms and Conditions and Schedule of Fees.