There are a lot of numbers on your power bill and we understand it can feel a little bit overwhelming, especially, if you’re still unsure about where all these different charges are all coming from. Solar can help drastically change the way your view your power bill every month. We’re going to help explain everything on your bill and how solar can save you money every month.
Meter and Usage Information
Referenced From: Utilities Consumer Advocate: Understanding Your Bill (alberta.ca)
Present Meter Reading: Most recent meter reading
Previous Meter Reading: How much your meter reading was during your last billing
Multiplier: This is how your utility company calculates how much electricity (kWh) you’ve used. Multiply the difference between your present and previous reading with this multiplier number
kWh Used: How many Kilowatt hours you’ve used during your billing period.
Power Bill Charges
Referenced From: Utilities Consumer Advocate: Understanding Your Bill (alberta.ca) and Understanding Your Energy Bill – EnergyRates.ca
Energy Portion
Electricity Use: A large part of your power bill is going to come from the amount of electricity you’ve used during your billing period, which is calculated based on kWh.
Admin Fee: A fixed fee to cover the cost of customer service and billing from your utility company.
Delivery Fees
Distribution Charge: Your distribution charge makes up another large bulk of your overall power bill. This charge is associated with the cost needed to transfer electricity from the transmission system to your house. To break it down even further, this will also include building, operating and maintaining your LDC’s distribution systems.
The distribution charge includes a fixed portion that is consistent for every billing period as well as a variable portion that’s calculated based on your usage.
Transmission Charge: This charge covers the transfer of electricity from the transmission grid to the distribution system. Your transmission charge is variable which means it’s calculated based on your usage every billing period.
Local Access Fee: Your local distribution company has to pay the municipality for access to serve residents in the area and have utility infrastructure set up on municipal property. Your local access fee exists to help cover these costs and can vary based on which municipality you reside in.
Balancing Pool Rider: Depending on whether assets are predicted to rise or fall, customers will share in any gains or losses through the balancing pool rider.
Rider: A rider is an adjustment to your distribution charge and comes from changes in circumstances since your last distributor’s charge was approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission
Usage History
Referenced From: Utilities Consumer Advocate: Understanding Your Bill (alberta.ca)
Your power bill will also show you a summary of your usage over the last year. This part is really important when we start the initial design of your solar system so we can create a system size that fits your consumption needs throughout the year.
What Charges Can Solar Reduce?
Any charge that is based on your usage (kWh) can be offset with solar. This means your electricity charge, transmission charge and the variable portion of your distribution charge can all be significantly reduced after the installation of a solar PV system.
Polaron’s goal is to make sure your transition to renewable energy is as smooth as possible. Contact us today for a free quote and we’ll take care of the rest.
