What Is Alberta’s Electricity Pool Price?
Every kilowatt-hour of electricity you use at home passed through Alberta’s wholesale power pool before it reached your meter. The pool price is the real-time wholesale rate at which generators sell electricity into the provincial grid — and it is the single biggest driver of what you pay on a variable-rate plan.
Alberta’s electricity market is unique in Canada. While most provinces run their power systems through government-owned monopolies, Alberta operates a competitive, deregulated wholesale market overseen by the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). Understanding how this market sets prices helps you make smarter decisions about your own energy plan.
How the Power Pool Works: Merit-Order Dispatch
Alberta’s pool price is set through a process called merit-order dispatch. Here is how it works, step by step:
- Generators submit price offers. Every power plant in Alberta — natural gas, coal-to-gas conversions, wind farms, solar installations, cogeneration facilities — submits price-quantity offers to the AESO. Each offer says, in effect, “I can produce X megawatts at Y dollars per megawatt-hour.”
- AESO stacks the offers from cheapest to most expensive. This ranked list is the “merit order.” Wind and solar plants often bid at or near zero because their fuel cost is essentially nothing. Natural gas plants bid higher, reflecting fuel and operating costs.
- Demand determines the cutoff. The AESO dispatches generators starting from the bottom of the stack (cheapest) and works upward until enough supply is online to meet province-wide demand.
- The last generator dispatched sets the price for everyone. This is the System Marginal Price (SMP) — the pool price. Every dispatched generator receives this price, regardless of what they originally bid.
The pool price is calculated for every minute of the day and then settled as an hourly average. It can swing from a few cents per kilowatt-hour during mild spring nights to its regulatory cap during extreme cold snaps or unexpected plant outages.
What Makes the Pool Price Go Up or Down?
Several factors push Alberta’s pool price higher or lower on any given day:
Demand
Bitter cold in January and hot afternoons in July both drive up electricity demand — furnace fans, space heaters, and air conditioners all pull more power. Higher demand means the AESO must dispatch more expensive generators, pushing the SMP higher.
Natural Gas Prices
Natural gas fuels roughly two-thirds of Alberta’s electricity generation. When natural gas prices rise, gas-fired generators bid higher, and the pool price follows.
Wind and Solar Output
Alberta is Canada’s largest wind-power generator and its solar capacity is growing fast. When the wind blows steadily or the sun shines across southern Alberta, cheap renewable output displaces expensive gas plants in the merit order, pulling the pool price down. Calm, cloudy days have the opposite effect.
Plant Outages
Unplanned maintenance or equipment failures remove supply from the market. If a large gas plant trips offline during a cold snap, the AESO must call on even more expensive units, and the pool price spikes.
Transmission Constraints
If a transmission line is congested or out of service, power from low-cost generators in one part of the province may not be deliverable to where demand is highest, forcing the dispatch of higher-cost local plants.
How the Pool Price Affects Your Electricity Bill
The connection between the wholesale pool price and your retail electricity rate depends on which type of plan you are on.
Variable-Rate Plans
If you are on a variable (or “floating”) rate, your per-kilowatt-hour charge tracks the pool price — typically reported as a 30-day rolling average. As of September 14, 2026, Get Energy’s variable electricity rate sits at 6.76¢/kWh (30-day average). When the pool price rises through a cold winter month, your variable rate rises too. When it drops in the shoulder seasons, you pay less.
Fixed-Rate Plans
A fixed-rate contract locks in your per-kilowatt-hour charge for the length of the term — one, two, or three years. The retailer takes on the risk of pool-price fluctuations so you don’t have to. Get Energy’s current 1-Year Advantage fixed rate is 6.57¢/kWh (as of September 17, 2026). Fixed rates are priced based on where the retailer expects the pool price to average over the contract term, plus a margin for bearing that risk.
Rate of Last Resort (RoLR)
If you have not actively chosen a retailer, you are on the government-regulated Rate of Last Resort (RoLR), which replaced the former Regulated Rate Option on January 1, 2026. The RoLR also tracks the pool price, but it includes an additional administrative premium. In most cases, actively choosing a plan — whether variable or fixed — saves money compared to the default.
Pool Price vs. Your Total Bill: The Other Charges
The pool price (or the retail rate based on it) only covers the energy charge — the cost of generating the electricity itself. Your bill also includes several regulated charges that are the same no matter which retailer you choose:
- Transmission charges — The cost of moving electricity along high-voltage lines from generators to your local distribution area. Learn more in our transmission and distribution guide.
- Distribution charges — Your local wires company (ENMAX in Calgary, EPCOR in Edmonton, FortisAlberta or ATCO in most other communities) charges for delivering power over local lines to your home.
- Rate riders and surcharges — Temporary adjustments approved by the Alberta Utilities Commission to recover under- or over-collected costs.
- Municipal franchise fees — A fee your municipality charges for using public land for utility infrastructure, typically 7–15% of delivery charges.
- Administration fees — A flat monthly charge from your retailer for account management.
Together, these regulated charges often make up 50–65% of your total bill. The energy charge — the part driven by the pool price — accounts for the remainder. That is why even large swings in the pool price do not translate dollar-for-dollar into bill changes.
Should You Watch the Pool Price?
If you are on a variable-rate plan, keeping a general eye on pool-price trends helps you anticipate your next bill. AESO publishes real-time and historical pool-price data on its website.
That said, most Alberta households benefit more from choosing the right plan type than from trying to time the market:
- If you value predictability, a fixed-rate plan shields you from pool-price volatility. You know exactly what your energy charge will be every month.
- If you are comfortable with some variability, a variable plan lets you benefit when pool prices are low — and in mild-weather months, they often are.
- If you have solar panels, the Solar Club offers export credits up to 35.00¢/kWh (as of September 17, 2026, valid through December 2028), letting you earn from surplus generation regardless of the pool price.
For a side-by-side comparison of plan types, see our guide on how to compare energy plans in Alberta.
Alberta’s Pool Price in Context
Alberta’s energy-only market is one of only a handful of competitive wholesale electricity markets in North America. Others include Texas (ERCOT) and the PJM Interconnection in the eastern United States. Each uses some form of merit-order dispatch, though the specific rules differ.
What sets Alberta apart is the price cap. The pool price cannot exceed a regulatory maximum (currently $999.99/MWh, or about $1.00/kWh). While the cap is rarely hit, it exists as a safeguard against extreme price events. On the low end, the pool price floor is $0/MWh — it can drop to zero during periods of high wind output and low demand.
Over the past several years, growing wind and solar capacity has put downward pressure on average pool prices during periods of strong renewable output. At the same time, the retirement of older coal-fired generation and increasing reliance on natural gas have introduced new sources of upward pressure during peak demand.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the pool price the same as my electricity rate?
No. The pool price is the wholesale rate paid by retailers and large industrial consumers. Your retail rate is based on the pool price but also includes the retailer’s costs and margin. Variable retail rates track the pool price closely; fixed rates do not change with it at all during your contract term.
How often does the pool price change?
The pool price is calculated every minute and settled as an hourly average. Your retail variable rate is typically expressed as a 30-day rolling average, which smooths out the minute-by-minute swings.
Can I see the current pool price?
Yes. AESO publishes live pool-price data on its website at aeso.ca. The data includes current price, historical averages, and demand forecasts.
Why is the pool price sometimes negative or zero?
When supply exceeds demand — for example, during a windy night when electricity consumption is low — generators may bid at or near zero to keep their plants running. The pool price floor is $0/MWh in Alberta, so it does not go negative, but it can reach zero.
Does switching retailers change my exposure to the pool price?
It depends on the plan you choose. Switching to a fixed-rate plan eliminates your direct exposure to pool-price swings. Switching between variable plans may affect the margin you pay on top of the pool price, but the underlying wholesale cost is the same across all retailers.
Ready to Choose the Right Rate for You?
Whether you prefer the predictability of a fixed rate or the flexibility of a variable plan, Get Energy offers transparent Alberta electricity and natural gas plans with no hidden fees.
Get Energy Corp is a licensed Alberta energy retailer. “Get Energy” is a registered trade name of Get Energy Corp. Rate figures cited above reflect values as of their stated dates and are subject to change. All regulated delivery and transmission charges are set by the Alberta Utilities Commission and are identical regardless of which retailer you choose.