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Alberta electricity consumers can expect to see a couple of surprises in their monthly bills in 2018: higher power prices and increased charges from the Balancing Pool.

For the past three years, Albertans have enjoyed cheap electricity rates due to falling industrial demand and low natural gas prices, among several factors.

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In 2017, the Alberta pool price for electricity averaged $22.19 per megawatt-hour (MW-h), less than half of pre-recession levels when the economy was roaring.

But during the first two days of the new year, even as the bitter cold that gripped the province during the holidays finally lifted, prices were trading in the mid-$30 range.

Analysts’ forecasts and prices on the forward market are pointing in the same direction: upward.

A report Tuesday by electricity consultants EDC Associates projects wholesale power prices will average $51.49 per MW-h this year.

Several forces are pushing prices higher, including growing demand as the recession ends and natural gas prices inching upward.