How do I know which category my business falls into?

Add twelve months of consumption from your bills. Under roughly 250,000 kWh or 2,500 GJ a year is small business; above that is commercial.

Do small businesses get worse energy rates than large ones?

Not necessarily. Small business sites buy on published rates that are often competitive, while large sites gain negotiating room but also carry demand charges and delivery complexity that small sites do not.

What is the difference between small business and commercial energy in Alberta?

Q: What is the difference between small business and commercial energy in Alberta?

Small business accounts generally use up to about 250,000 kWh of electricity or 2,500 GJ of natural gas a year and buy on published rates. Commercial accounts use more than that and are normally priced against their own consumption profile, with demand charges playing a much larger role.

Short answer: The practical dividing line is around 250,000 kWh of electricity or 2,500 GJ of gas a year, roughly $5,000 a month. Below it, standard small business plans and published rates usually fit. Above it, contracts are normally built around the site’s own consumption profile, and delivery-side charges matter far more.

Last updated September 12, 2026.

What changes when you cross the line

	Small business	Commercial
Annual use	Up to ~250,000 kWh / 2,500 GJ	Above that
Pricing	Published rate cards	Quoted against your load profile
Metering	Usually simple	Often interval metered
Demand charges	Small or none	Frequently a large share of the bill
Where the savings sit	Rate and fees	Rate and delivery, demand, power factor, load shape
Decision timeline	Days	Weeks, with a renewal calendar

Get Energy serves both

A one-location shop and a multi-site operation are not the same job, and we do not pretend they
are. Small business accounts get published rates, a straightforward plan choice and a check that the
delivery side is not quietly wrong. Commercial accounts get a quoted price against their actual
profile, plus the parts that only matter at scale — demand, power factor, load shape and
equipment.

Not sure which you are?

Add up twelve months of kWh from your bills. Under 250,000 and you are small business; over it,
commercial. If your bills are seasonal or you have several sites, send them over and we will work it
out as part of the review — the answer only matters because it determines how we price you, not
whether we can help.

Today’s published small business rates

Variable electricity 7.06¢/kWh (30-day average, calculated September 8, 2026) ·
fixed 1-year 6.57¢/kWh · variable natural gas $3.71/GJ
(calculated September 5, 2026) · administration fee $9.97 per site per month. Commercial
sites are quoted individually.

Book a free Energy Cost Audit

Send us one recent electricity bill and one natural gas bill. We review both halves — the
energy you buy and the delivery charges you are billed to receive it — and come back with a
written summary of what we found and what, if anything, is worth changing. No cost, no obligation,
and no requirement to switch anything.

Upload your bills — free Energy Cost Audit

Prefer email? Send your bills to
info@getenergy.ca, or call
(780) 665-4771, Monday to Friday 9 AM–5 PM.

More for Alberta businesses

Energy prices move every week. Our Alberta
Energy Market Report tracks wholesale power prices, the natural gas reference price and retail
rate movement every Monday.

Get Energy is an Alberta competitive retailer and energy broker serving
residential, small business, farm and commercial consumers. Get Energy is a tradename of Utility
Network & Partners Inc.