Calgarians will be in for an electricity shock on July 1, when rising prices are transmitted to customers currently enjoying the lowest rates in Alberta.

That was the warning included in yesterday's Chamber of Commerce speech by Enmax CEO Gary Holden, in which the electricity boss said his company can no longer shield customers from rising wholesale power prices.

"We don't think it will be dramatically higher, but it will be higher than we are seeing today," said Holden, who promised to keep Calgary at the bottom in terms of pricing.

"Calgary's going to continue to enjoy the lowest electricity costs in Alberta, it's just difficult to hold our prices at the levels we've had for the last year because of those rising costs."

A jump in the cost of oil and gas, both needed to generate electricity, has seen cities like Edmonton paying 8.49 cents per kilowatt hour and Lethbridge paying 9.8 cents/kWh, while Calgarians are still paying 5.56 cents/kWh under the rate approved Jan. 1.

Calgary's low rate translates to a $68 electricity bill for the average home consuming 625 kWh each month, and Holden said he expects the rate to climb by a cent or two, though he wouldn't make a more specific guess. "Because it's a competitive tender, we want to be very careful," said Holden.

Holden said customers can avoid volatile electricity costs by signing up with the company's EasyMax program, which includes both electricity and natural gas service, and guarantees a $100 rebate every year.

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