Tuesday, December 15, 2009

As the temperatures drop, Natural gas prices are set to rise




Keeping the windows closed and the heat inside the house will take on renewed importance over the next few months, as our cold weather months coincide once again with what seem to be annual increases in the price of Natural gas.

Terasen gas announced on Monday that the cost of delivery of natural gas in many parts of British Columbia is set to go up on January 1st, with the expected increase to cost the province's gas users between $55 and $67 more for a typical customer.

PNG which serves the North and Northwest portion of the province has its own revenue requirements application in with the British Columbia Utilities Commission, a request for an interim increase filed on October 2nd which would see an increase of 28.5 per cent, or 213 dollars, effective January 1, 2010.

The request for an increase in revenue requirements comes as a number of the industrial clients of PNG have reduced or eliminated their need for natural gas deliveries, leaving more and more of the residential base to cover the costs.

The detailed application forwarded to the BCUC is available on the PNG website, outlining the anticipated costs of operation, including such things as salaries, capital spending and projected revenue streams.

The final entry on that application listed on the PNG website details the process that the BCUC had in place for examining the application, with submissions required by October 28th for anyone wishing to intervene regarding the requested increases.

The BCUC website offers up no indication yet as to the outcome of those discussions and any impact that they may have had on the PNG application. Which as outlined in their request, would see prices increase across Northern British Columbia on January 1st.

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