The city of Prince Albert is reminding utility customers that mailed paper copies of water utility bills will cost $2 per bill starting June 1, while printed copies picked up at City Hall will cost $10 per bill.
Residents can avoid the fee by switching to free email before May 31. Customers who sign up before the deadline will continue to receive their utility bills directly via email at no cost.
The city said residents can register for email billing by completing the online sign-up form at www.citypa.ca/water-bill. The online form is intended to help ensure email addresses are entered correctly and reduce the risk of billing issues.
“We’re encouraging residents to make the switch to email billing before June 1 to avoid unnecessary fees and enjoy a more convenient way to receive their utility bills,” Natara Chubak, financial operations manager for the City of Prince Albert, said in a press release. “Email delivery is faster, more reliable and helps reduce printing and mailing costs.”
The fee was approved during the City’s 2026 budget process, after council discussed the cost of mailing paper utility bills during the Water Utility Fund review in December.
During that discussion, Coun. Blake Edwards questioned how much the City was spending on postage and whether efforts to move customers to email billing were reducing costs.
Then director of financial services Ramona Fauchoux told council the City was encouraging email billing and automatically putting new water customers on e-billing unless they requested otherwise. However, she said postage costs were increasing.
Fauchoux said the City had previously tried a promotion to encourage more residents to sign up for email billing, but it did not create a major increase in uptake.
“I do think that in order if you want more people to go to e-billing, we would have to implement a fee,” she told council at the time.
Council first discussed a $1 charge, which administration estimated could bring in roughly $75,000 to $80,000. Edwards then suggested the fee should be $2, noting postage alone was more than $1 before paper, envelopes, and staff time were included.
Staff told council during the December discussion that the City had 11,894 active water accounts and had printed 5,736 paper copies for that month’s billing. At the time, 48.3 per cent of customers were already on e-billing.
The start date was also discussed during the budget meeting. Staff said they needed time of inform residents and give them a chance to switch before the fee was charged. The date was eventually set for June 1.
Customers who choose to pick up a printed bill at City Hall will be charged a separate $10 printing fee per bill. The City release does not explain why the in-person printed bill fee is $10, compared to $2 for a mailed paper bill.
The City is also advising SaskTel email users to add citypa.com to their trusted sender list to help prevent utility bills from being filtered into spam folders. Step-by-step instructions are available on the City’s water bill webpage.
The City release does not say whether in-person help will be available for residents who are not comfortable or familiar with signing up online or using email billing.
arjun.pillai@paherald.sk.ca
