HOW MUCH MONEY HAVE EQUS MEMBERS SAVED THIS PAST YEAR VERSUS IF THEY WERE A FORTIS CUSTOMER?
In 2025, when placed on a comparative rate with Fortis, EQUS Members saved over $13.8 million!
IN A TYPICAL MONTH, HOW MUCH DO EQUS MEMBERS SAVE ON DISTRIBUTION COSTS
WHEN COMPARED TO FORTIS?
Residential: 5%
Small Capacity: 45% – 61% (Farm)
10% – 20% (Small)
Medium Capacity: 20%
Large Capacity: 20% – 45%
Irrigation: 20%
Oil & Gas Rates: 20%
DO WE HAVE A REFERRAL PROGRAM FOR MEMBERS TO BRING FORTIS CUSTOMERS TO
EQUS?
EQUS’ Member Referral Program offers a $250 bonus when you successfully refer someone to become an EQUS member. It’s one of the ways we like to say ‘thank you’ for helping grow
Alberta’s largest power co-op! Referrers can receive either a $250 bill credit (for existing EQUS members) or a $250 Co-Op gift card (for non-members) each year. Visit EQUS.ca/refer to learn more about the program’s terms and conditions, including
eligibility.
HOW DOES RETAILING WORK AND WHO DOES EQUS HAVE FOR RETAILERS?
You have the option to choose your electricity retailer. Regardless of your choice, EQUS will provide your electricity distribution service, and be your main contact for infrastructure questions (outages). Your electricity bill, however, would come from the retailer you choose. A full list of EQUS approved retailers can be found at equs.ca/retailers
Members are free to purchase electricity services from a retailer of their choice. For a list of retailers, visit http://www.ucahelps.alberta.ca or call 310.4822 (toll-free in Alberta).
HISTORICALLY, WHAT HAVE THE CAUSES BEEN FOR POWER OUTAGES?
The biggest cause of Power Outages is Pre-Planned work accounting for nearly half of outage events. In 2025 there were 1961 unplanned events, the majority caused by: Small animals/Birds – 324, Lightning – 275, Tree Failure – 251, Heavy Winds (Not Tree Related) – 106, Ice build up – 98
WHAT DOES EQUS CONSIDER TO BE A HIGH LOAD IN RELATION TO FARM EQUIPMENT?
Exercise caution if equipment is higher than 4.1m. If you are moving a load over 5.3m (17.5 feet), we would encourage you to submit a high load move request, you may require an escort.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF CHECKING YOUR BREAKER AND CALLING IN WHEN YOUR
POWER IS OUT?
Sometimes an outage can be caused by a tripped breaker, and easily resolved in seconds by checking your breaker at home. If you confirm the breaker is not the issue, it is important to call 310-EQUS to report the outage, as you may be the only member without power.
HOW MANY SERVICE AREAS ARE THERE AT EQUS?
All of EQUS is considered to be one service area, however we do have 4 Area Offices that handle the maintenance for our system, located in Onoway (North), Penhold (Central), Claresholm & Medicine Hat (South).
WHAT ARE THE ENERGY RATES AND HOW DOES EQUS COMPARE TO THE RoLR (RATE OF LAST RESORT)?
EQUS offers a contract energy rate of $0.09865 per kilowatt hour. This is a five-year contract that must be signed and returned to the EQUS office. If a contract is not signed and no competitive retailer is chosen, your account will be placed on the Rate of Last Resort (RoLR). The current RoLR rate is $0.13100 per kilowatt hour. Members are free to purchase electricity services from a retailer of their choice. For a list of retailers, visit http://www.ucahelps.alberta.ca or call 310.4822 (toll-free in Alberta).
HOW IS YOUR BILL BROKEN INTO ENERGY, TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION?
Energy charges are based on your monthly electricity consumption (the kilowatt hours you used) plus a UFE (Unaccounted for Energy) line loss, which together determine your billed consumption. Transmission and distribution charges depend on the rate class you are billed under. For most rate classes (excluding irrigation), these charges are based on:
Monthly peak or connection capacity (daily), and A variable transmission component based on meter consumption.
WHAT ABILITY DO WE HAVE TO SWITCH OUR RETAILER (ENERGY) TO SAVE MONEY?
Choosing a retailer is entirely up to you, the member. We recommend contacting retailers directly to discuss rate options and contracts to determine what best suits your
needs.
Members are free to purchase electricity services from a retailer of their choice. For a list of retailers, visit http://www.ucahelps.alberta.ca or call 310.4822 (toll-free in Alberta).
WHY CAN’T YOU SERVICE OUR AREA?
In Alberta, electric distribution service is provided by several types of providers, including investor-owned utilities (e.g., FortisAlberta), municipally owned utilities (e.g., ENMAX in Calgary), and rural electrification associations (REAs) such as EQUS that operate in
rural areas throughout the province. EQUS can only provide distribution service in rural locations that fall within EQUS’s AUC-approved service area and can only serve its eligible members within that area; if your property is outside EQUS’s AUC-approved service area, EQUS cannot service your property.
WHAT IS MICRO-GENERATION CLUB?
Solar Club is a program that offers different power rates for the summer and winter seasons. This structure benefits members with solar microgeneration because
people generally produce more solar energy in the summer than in the winter, they can earn a higher rate for the energy they export during the summer and pay a
reduced rate when they are importing power.
WHY IS EQUS NOT PART OF SOLAR CLUB?
We currently have retailers that are registered with EQUS that offer Solar Club rates, so if EQUS members want to choose these retailers and get on a solar club rate they have that opportunity.
EQUS has not introduced this rate because we have concerns that this option may not be permitted by the government over the long term, as the additional money being paid to members comes from the transmission tariff.
WHAT IS G.I.S.?
EQUS’ Geographic Information System (GIS) is where our electrical network lives digitally and is the spatial backbone for the electrical network in the field. It stores, models, and maps all our network assets, allowing our team to track outages, plan responses, and make any additions or changes to the system.
WHAT ARE THE MAIN BENEFITS OF EQUS GIS?
It is data-driven decision making which assists in seeing patterns, restoring power quicker, working safer and planning upgrades more wisely so that the overall level of service becomes more reliable.
WHAT DOES EQUS OWN AND WHERE IS IT LOCATED? HOW LONG HAS IT BEEN AROUND?
EQUS was established in 2013 when two REAs amalgamated (Central Alberta REA & South Alta REA). These two REAs themselves were the product of several amalgamations of
smaller REAs that date back to the 1940s. Today, EQUS owns all of the distribution infrastructure we operate in our Service Area, along with our buildings, land, and equipment.
EQUS IS STARTING CONSTRUCTION ON A NEW TRAINING CENTER, WHAT DOES THE CENTER PROVIDE AND WHEN WILL IT START?
This training Center will offer real-world training scenarios in a controlled setting, support larger group training, and significantly enhance the quality of our safety program. Construction will start in June with team members from EQUS coming together to
install poles, conductor and transformers to build a centralized
training yard at the Central Office Area.
