ATCO Gas has a long history of being an active corporate citizen in the communities we serve, work and live in. Each year we work with different organizations to bring some of our flagship programs to your community.
ATCO Gas is committed to the protection and stewardship of the environment. This strongly held value is embedded in our staff training, reflected in our corporate decision making, and integrated into our business strategies. Our Environmental Policy outlines this commitment and our Environment Operating Principles incorporate practices that limit greenhouse gas emissions.
ATCO Gas collects meter readings and uses this measurement information to calculate how much natural gas has been used each charge period. Our company passes this information to your retailer, along with our delivery charges and your retailer passes these costs on to you.
Pipe fusion ceremony during the opening of the Airdrie Operations Centre
ATCO Gas delivers safe, reliable, cost-effective natural gas to Alberta -- and has since 1912. That's why we say we're "Alberta-made". An investor-owned, rate regulated utility, ATCO Gas helps to build communities across the province because our people live, work and volunteer in the communities we serve.
Natural gas service began in Alberta in 1912. In just one year, the first natural gas delivery company, Canadian Western Natural Gas (CWNG), was serving approximately 6,400 customers between Bow Island and Calgary. In 1923, people in the Edmonton area were using natural gas for heating and cooking, courtesy of Northwestern Utilities Limited (NUL). Eventually the service areas of these companies would expand to nearly every corner of the province.
In 1970, Canadian Utilities became the holding company and parent for CWNG and NUL. In the late 1970s, Ron Southern, President of ATCO Ltd., was appointed a director of Canadian Utilities. A few short years later, in 1980, ATCO acquired controlling interest in Canadian Utilities.
By 1998, Canadian Western Natural Gas and Northwestern Utilities Ltd had been working together for 75 years to deliver safe, reliable natural gas service to customers across Alberta. From the well-head all the way to the customer’s home, both companies handled the transmission and distribution of natural gas. That year, the two companies were merged under the ATCO brand to provide customers with a single, province-wide natural gas transmission and distribution company – ATCO Gas & Pipelines Ltd. Today, ATCO Gas delivers natural gas service to over a million customers in 300 communities across the province.
Between 2001 and 2006, ATCO Gas’s capital expenditures more than doubled to meet increasing demand and keep pace with Alberta’s booming economy. In 2007, ATCO Gas won an Energy-TV award for its participation in Drake’s Landing, Alberta’s first large-scale solar community.
In 2008, the number of ATCO Gas customers surpassed one million. In 2011, ATCO Gas implemented Automated Meter Reading technology to improve billing accuracy, customer service and safety. It also embarked on large scale service improvement initiatives to replace distribution mains across its service territory.
ATCO Group is a worldwide organization of companies engaged in Utilities, Energy, Structures & Logistics and Technologies. More information about ATCO can be found on its website at www.atco.com.