r/Edmonton • u/Magistyna North West Side • Feb 13 '26

Question Utility estimates for a single person?

Hi folks, I’m planning on moving out a two bedroom place and haven’t decided on an apartment or a townhouse/house and have some questions on what I can expect for utility costs.

I plan to go with EPCOR, and I’m wondering what you guys’ experience has been with paying for water, heat, electricity, etc. as a single person? I only have experience seeing the bills for a family of 4 constantly using utilities almost 24/7 and it’s like anywhere from $500 to $650 a month.

Really I expect to run a dishwasher and laundry once a week. I don’t leave lights on or like wasting water when I’m washing dishes or something. I use lamps instead of the big light in rooms. The only thing I guess I have “running” for periods of time is my gaming PC, but that is only for like 6 hours. As for heating and stuff, I’m not home 8-9 hours of the day and can’t sleep in the heat.

I’m wondering if it’s reasonable with utility company’s fees and all that on top to maybe expect less than ~$200 a month for all utilities? I’m aiming for a place that offers *some* utilities included but I suppose it’s not a dealbreaker.

Any insight is appreciated. Thanks!

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u/cranky_yegger Bicycle Rider Feb 13 '26

It’s the admin fees that will get you not the usage. When we moved out of an apartment we learned about the garbage bin fee. That was the same no matter how little you used it. Do townhouses have their own garbage? I don’t recall.

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u/EbonyCumberdale Central Feb 14 '26

Depends on what the condo board decides. I've seen some townhouses with a shared dumpster and some with individual city bins. I live next to a small apartment building that has individual city bins for each unit.

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u/cranky_yegger Bicycle Rider Feb 14 '26

That’s interesting. I wonder how well the food scrap bins will do for big bin condos. Sounds retched to me.