Landlord and Property Owner Tips

Know your property’s Site ID number(s)

All Alberta properties with natural gas and/or electricity service have a unique 13-digit Site ID number; and each meter is considered an individual “site”.

It is important to provide accurate Site ID numbers to an energy provider when applying for services. This is particularly true for multi-unit properties, legal land descriptions and/or properties where the Civic address may have changed recently. Even one missed, mixed up or wrong digit can result in services being connected to a wrong address and your renter being billed for someone else’s energy charges.

Alberta Site ID numbers are listed in a central registry located at: http://www.utilitynet.net/. Once on the site click on the Site Catalog icon.

Read your meter before moving in/out

Most energy providers do not make a special trip to the property to read the meter when account holders change. This is because it is accepted industry practice to estimate electricity and natural gas meter readings when opening or closing accounts.

Natural Gas Estimates

Natural gas usage over the total period (from meter reading to meter reading) is allocated using “degree days”.

Degree day
A degree day is a measure of how cold it has been over a 24-hour period. It is determined by calculating the mean daily temperature for the day and subtracting it from a base temperature.

Mean daily temperature
The mean daily temperature is calculated by taking the average of the daily maximum and minimum temperatures. The base temperature for northern Alberta is 14.5 degrees Celsius, and 15.5 degrees Celsius for southern Alberta.

Electricity Estimates
Electricity usage is allocated using several factors, including the average daily usage over the last 12-month period.

While this method of allocating usage is highly accurate for most customers, there are always exceptions. To avoid paying energy consumption you did not use, always read your own meter(s) on the day you move out and the day you take possession of the property, and call in your meter readings to the appropriate energy provider.

Visit Reading Your Meters for meter reading instructions.

Application for Utility Services

To avoid landlord/tenant disputes regarding utility charges and/or possession dates, you may want to consider having your tenant sign an application for utilities services.

Landlords can develop their own form or they can contact the applicable energy provider to see if they have a form. This is an example of an application for utilities form.

Once your tenant signs the application form, fax or mail a copy to the appropriate energy provider, and keep a copy for your records in case of future disputes.

PLEASE NOTE: Many regulated energy providers are approved by either the Alberta Energy & Utilities Board (EUB) or by municipal bylaws to automatically bill the registered property owner for any period of time that an application for service is not received. These companies do not physically turn off the gas and/or electricity service when tenants terminate their account. If you do not want to be billed for your renter’s consumption, you must ensure your tenant has applied for the appropriate services.

Alternatively, if your property is vacant and you do not want services to remain connected, it is your responsibility to contact the energy providers and request physical disconnection of services. However, this may result in “reconnection fees” that you or your tenant must pay to restore services.

Vacant properties and interim billing agreements

Many energy providers offer several options for landlords when rental properties become vacant. These options may include:

Automatically bill the property owner when no application for service is received.
Automatically shut off the services when no application is received.
Automatically bill the property owner between October 15 and April 15 (dates may vary), and automatically shut off the services from April 16 to October 14 (dates may vary).
Call the property owner when an application for service is required.

Contact the energy providers in your area to find out if these options are available to you.

Vacant properties: disconnection or idle billing

If you do not want to pay the monthly delivery charges and administration fees when your property is vacant, you can request that service be physically turned off. However, most retailers and distributors charge a “reconnection fee”. The cost to reconnect the service may be more than the monthly charges would have been (depending on how long the service remains off).

Also, if service is disconnected for a significant length of time, the municipality may require an inspection is done before service can be restored. This inspection can be costly and is the responsibility of the property owner.

Idle billing charges

Electric only
Some rural electricity sites are subject to idle billing charges whether service is physically connected or not. These charges are levied by the distributor to recover the costs to maintain the transmission lines and to keep the site connected to the provincial power grid.

If you have a rural electricity site that you are requesting to be disconnected, it is your responsibility to inquire about idle billing charges. It is not uncommon for energy providers to hold back idle charges for longer periods of time and then issue a catch up bill for up to a 12-month period.

Salvage the site

If you do not wish to pay idle billing charges, you can request the distributor to salvage the site. This means the distributor will physically remove the meter, power poles and power lines, and your property will no longer have access to the power grid.

PLEASE NOTE: Salvaging a site is usually only done when you have no plans to use electricity at that property again. The cost to reinstall the power lines, poles and meters can be thousands of dollars.

Protecting your tenant-occupied property from damage in winter months

In the fall, Alberta property owners are responsible for checking their rental properties to ensure natural gas and electricity services are connected. This helps avoid damage when the weather turns cold.

Disconnection of service due to nonpayment

Energy providers cannot contact rental property owners to advise when service has been disconnected for non payment. It may be possible, after proof of ownership, to find out from an energy provider when the service was turned off. However, many companies will not give any other information such as account balance or payment history.

Vacant property over winter

In the fall, every property owner is responsible for checking vacant properties to ensure natural gas and electricity services are connected. Check with your property’s insurance company to see how often a vacant property requires monitoring against furnace malfunctions or utility interruptions.

If the property is going to remain vacant and you do not want to pay for the utility services, property owners can hire a private contractor to “winterize” the property. This usually includes draining all water lines and pipes, and filling them with anti-freeze. Once the property is winterized, the utilities can be physically disconnected without causing damage.

PLEASE NOTE: If you hire a private contractor to physically disconnect the gas and/or electricity services because you have winterized the property, make sure you notify the appropriate energy providers or they will continue to bill you for delivery charges and administration costs.