Cold weather out east could mean higher prices for us in BC
Posted January 31, 2014 7:57 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – All that cold weather out east could mean you’ll be paying more to heat your home.
Michael Allison with Fortis BC says they are always looking at keeping costs down, but that’s not always possible, especially when demand for natural gas surges elsewhere — like right now, in places like Ontario, which continues to deal with frigid temperatures.
He admits an increase in your monthly bill is possible if the company goes to the regulator with the request later this year. “Absolutely. We do submit our numbers to the BC Utilities Commission and this is definitely upward pressure on the price of natural gas.”
Allison notes any changes to the rate structure needs approval from the commission.
“We do assess the commodity cost on a quarterly basis with the BC Utilities Commission and any changes that we would be making would be effective April 1st,” he tells us.
Allison says despite how the cost of natural gas may spike because of the demand out east, there’s no guarantee there won’t be a correction before April arrives, sending the price back down. If that’s the case, he says that should insulate you from any potential rate hikes.
He also notes it’s important to remember the price of natural gas has dropped 25 per cent in the past few years because of an increase in supply.
Allison adds the cost to heat your home five years ago was around $15 per gigajoule. Now, it’s more like $10/gigajoule.
