How to compare Alberta electricity retailers with the UCA Cost Comparison Tool

Albertans see a ¢/kWh Facebook ad and miss the admin fee, the 36-month term, and the $150 exit charge. The Office of the Utilities Consumer Advocate publishes a Cost Comparison Tool so you can put those lines on one page. Delivery does not move when you switch. The wires company is not the retailer.

This is a UCA workflow for Canada’s clearest retail-choice market — not an Ontario RPP explainer and not a pitch for any brand. If you also heat with gas, compare fuels in gas vs electric heat after you understand which line you can shop.

Competitive retailer vs Rate of Last Resort (default) explained

If you never signed a contract, you are on a default retailer. For electricity that default energy price is the Rate of Last Resort, which replaced the Regulated Rate Option on 1 January 2025. The AUC approved a two-year RoLR term through 31 December 2026. UCA’s default-rate tables (used 20 Sep 2026) show commodity of 12.01 ¢/kWh (EPCOR), 12.06 ¢ (ENMAX), and 12.02 ¢ (Direct Energy Regulated Services) — the exact cell depends on your distributor column. Those figures exclude billing and delivery.

You are not required to leave RoLR. You can leave it any time without an exit fee. Competitive retailers offer fixed, floating, or promotional energy prices, usually with a term and sometimes with a cancellation charge. Gas has a separate Default Rate Tariff if you never contracted gas.

Notification that you are on RoLR is information, not a bill you must pay extra to fix. If a door-knocker implies your power will be cut unless you sign today, that is a sales script. Use the tool.

What the UCA tool shows: energy rate, admin fees, contract length, exit fees

Open the UCA Cost Comparison Tool. You will typically set your distributor, fuel (electricity, gas, or both), and usage. The rows are not “the cheapest power in Alberta.” They are posted offers with:

• Energy rate — ¢/kWh (or ¢/GJ for gas).
• Administration or monthly fees — a $6–$10 fee can erase a 1 ¢ “win” on a low-use condo.
• Term — often 1–5 years. Month-to-month competitive plans exist; read them.
• Exit / cancellation fees — flat, declining, or “remaining months × $X.”
• Incentives — bill credits that expire. Model year two, not month one.

Sort by estimated annual cost at your kWh, not by the bold ¢. Then open the terms PDF. If the tool row and the retailer website disagree, believe neither until you call and get the rate, fee, and exit in writing.

Fixed vs floating vs bundled electricity+gas offers

Model electricity and gas as two lines even when they share a logo. A bundle that wins on power and loses 20 ¢/GJ on gas is not a win. UCA lets you compare fuels separately.

Delivery charges stay with your distributor — shopping only the energy line

EPCOR Distribution, ENMAX Power, FortisAlberta, ATCO Electric (and the gas distributors) still bill wires, transmission, and local riders. Switching retailers does not change the pole on your street. If your complaint is “the delivery line exploded,” a new ¢/kWh will not fix it. If your complaint is “I am paying ~12 ¢ energy on RoLR and the tool shows a 7–9 ¢ fixed with a small fee,” that is the shopping problem the UCA exists for.

Labelled sketch, not a quote: 600 kWh × (12.06 − 8.00) ¢ = $24.36 / month on energy before an $8 admin fee and before you eat an exit fee next year. Do that math on the tool’s annual column.

Worked process: enter usage, shortlist three plans, call to confirm

1. Pull 12 months of kWh (and GJ if you will shop gas) from your bills. A July-only condo is a lie in December.
2. Enter the UCA tool with the right distributor. If you do not know it, it is on the bill next to the delivery block.
3. Shortlist three rows: lowest estimated annual, lowest exit-fee flexible plan, and RoLR as the baseline.
4. Call or chat each retailer. Confirm the ¢, the monthly fee, the term start, the exit fee in dollars, and whether a credit check or deposit applies (Alberta rules cap deposits; cash deposits are restricted).
5. Read the confirmation notice when it arrives. Names, address, rate, and term. This is the cooling-off clock.

UCA’s mediation team (310-4822) exists when a contract and a bill disagree. Use them. Do not pay a “release fee” because someone was loud on the phone.

Cooling-off period and switch timing (10–90 days)

UCA’s how-to-switch page (used 20 Sep 2026): every competitive retailer has a 10 calendar day cooling-off period — cancel for any reason without penalty; the previous retailer keeps serving you. Telephone marketing contracts can have a longer statutory window (up to 60 days after the first bill under Alberta marketing rules). If you already have a contract on the site, extra cancellation rights can apply — read the confirmation.

The switch itself takes 10 to 90 calendar days. Ten to fifteen is common; 90 happens. You pay the old retailer until the date of the switch. Credits do not travel. If a new bill does not appear within a month of the flip, call — an unbilled account becomes a catch-up bill.

RoLR has no cooling-off because it is not a competitive contract. You just leave. Do not let a salesperson “save” you from a default you can exit for free.