By JEFF NAGEL Black Press Sep 14 2007
Terasen Gas customers should soon be paying less for natural gas. The utility has asked regulators for permission to cut its gas commodity rate by about 9.6 per cent. “It’s been a cooler summer across North America than anticipated,” explained Terasen Gas spokesperson Joyce Wagenaar. “That has resulted in people using less air conditioning, so there’s more supply in the market.” The cut would translate into savings of around $80 a year for the typical household –— as long as they have stayed with Terasen Gas as their provider since the residential market was opened up to rival offers. More than 80,000 B.C. homeowners have signed long-term contracts at higher rates from independent natural-gas marketers and won’t benefit from the Terasen rate cut.
Unlike the other marketers, Terasen is required to sell its natural gas to customers without markup. Rates are reviewed every three months. Its profit comes from separate charges to actually deliver the gas to homes. If approved by the B.C. Utilities Commission, the gas rate decrease will take effect Oct. 1. It would drop Terasen’s gas commodity charge from $7.662 per gigajoule (GJ) to $6.992. Independent marketers are currently offering five-year rates of $8.49 to $9.94 per GJ. Customers locked in at those prices will soon be paying $180 to $350 more per year than if they had stayed with Terasen. Terasen’s rate peaked at close to $10 per GJ two years ago in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but has been below $8 for the past 18 months.
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