Natural-gas prices will remain static for at least the next three months.
FortisBC has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to maintain the cost of natural gas for its customers. As of Oct. 1, more than three-million FortisBC customers will see no change to the cost of natural gas on their bill.
“Natural gas prices in our province continue to remain near their lowest levels in over a decade and our natural gas customers have not seen a rate increase in two years,” said Diane Roy, vice-president of regulatory affairs at FortisBC. “The preference for natural gas is reflected by our continued customer growth.”
Below are the rate changes for each region effective October 1, 2018:
Mainland, Vancouver Island and Whistler
There is no change to the current cost of gas rate for residential customers at $1.549 per gigajoule (GJ).
Fort Nelson
Residential customers in Fort Nelson will not see any changes to their bill. The current cost of gas rate is $1.571 per GJ.
Revelstoke
Residential customers will see an increase to the cost of propane rate from $11.791 per GJ to $12.842 per GJ. This is an increase of $1.051 per GJ.
What is on your bill?
-Basic charge: The basic charge is a flat daily fee that partially recovers the fixed costs of the system, whether or not you are using any natural gas, as long as you are connected to the system. The basic charge is reviewed by the BCUC annually.
-Delivery charge: The delivery charge is based on consumption and pays for the cost of delivering gas to homes and businesses. The delivery charge also covers the costs of maintaining the natural gas distribution system, earn a return on the amounts invested in FortisBC and fund improvements. Delivery charges are reviewed by the BCUC annually.
-Storage and transport: Storage and transport reflect the prices FortisBC pays to other companies to store and transport gas through their pipelines and infrastructure. These costs are reviewed quarterly and set annually by the BCUC.
-Cost of gas: Every three months, FortisBC reviews natural gas and propane cost of gas rates with the BCUC to ensure rates passed on to customers cover the cost of purchasing the gas on their behalf.
Factors affecting the market price of natural gas and propane in North America include weather, supply and demand and economic conditions, Propane prices are also influenced by global oil markets. FortisBC does not mark up the cost of gas as customers pay what it pays.
-Other charges and taxes: Other charges and taxes include the B.C. carbon tax, the clean energy levy, the GST and, in some municipalities, a municipal operating fee. These charges are set by various levels of government and collected by FortisBC on their behalf.
