Vancouver Island natural gas users will see a reduction in the rate they pay for gas in the new year.
Fortis B.C. has received B.C. Utilities Commission approval to modify natural gas and propane rates as of Jan. 1 as part of a three-year plan to establish a common rate for natural gas across the province.
On the Island, Sunshine Coast and Powell River, that means a decrease of 77 cents per gigajoule for gas, a reduction of 52 cents per gigajoule in the cost of delivery and a reduction of 41 cents per gigajoule for storage and transportation.
According to Fortis, the average residential customer using 45 gigajoules of natural gas annually will save $76 in a year.
“Natural gas prices in North America have continued to fall due to expectations for a mild winter, strong natural gas production and record natural gas storage levels heading into winter. These factors have resulted in a decrease in the cost of gas effective Jan. 1,” said Cynthia Des Brisay, vice-president of energy supply for Fortis.
The delivery portion of the rate is what Fortis charges to deliver natural gas and propane service to customers, while storage and transport rates include charges Fortis pays to other companies to transport natural gas to Fortis’s service area.
In early 2014, the utilities commission approved a plan to phase in common pricing for natural gas over three years.
By combining Fortis B.C., Energy, Fortis B.C. Energy (Vancouver Island) and Fortis B.C. Energy (Whistler) into one entity and establishing a common rate for delivery of natural gas, the Island and Whistler stood to see their rates cut substantially.
At the time, Fortis estimated Island customers could see a 25 per cent rate cut over the three years.
Of Fortis’s more than one million customers, 105,000 are on the Island.
