Two of Ontario’s biggest distributors of natural gas are hoping regulators will quickly approve an increase in natural gas rates.
Enbridge Gas Distribution and Union Gas have both applied for the increases, saying the unusually cold winter has increased demand, forcing them to buy more gas than expected – at a higher cost than expected.
“We’ve had a really cold winter this year … which has led to an increase in demand, which has also resulted in higher natural gas prices,” Union Gas spokesperson Carrie Dudley-Tatsu tells CTV News.
Union Gas customers in Cambridge, Waterloo and the rest of southern Ontario currently pay 13 cents per cubic metre of natural gas.
The company wants to see that raised to 22 cents per cubic metre.
For the average household, that would mean a $17 increase in their monthly gas bill – but rates would still be below 2004, when they sat at 27 cents per cubic metre.
Waterloo resident Susan Mitchell says the increase is too much for customers to take all at once.
“It just becomes too much of a burden, especially for people who are working at low-income jobs and trying to maintain a home,” she says.
“If you look at the fine print, you’ll notice that the actual consumption that we’ve had in the past couple months is almost triple what it was from October to December.”
Even if the increase is approved, Kitchener residents won’t notice any difference.
Kitchener Utilities buys natural gas with what officials called a “mixed strategy” – meaning some is purchased at market rates, but fixed-price contracts are also used.
“It provides stability for our customers and allows us to buy in advance so we don’t necessarily see the peaks in prices that others might see,” says Pauline Houston, the city’s deputy CAO of infrastructure services.
But Kitchener isn’t immune to this winter’s high demand for gas, and Houston says the city will be reviewing its purchasing procedures later this year.
