Cost of gas rates stay stable for FortisBC customers

SURREY, BC, March 22, 2022 /CNW/ - FortisBC Energy Inc. (FortisBC) has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to maintain the cost of gas rates for all of its customers until June 30, 2022. As such, FortisBC customers will not see a change to the cost of gas rate on their bill. FortisBC reviews these rates with the BCUC each quarter to make sure they accurately reflect the cost of purchasing the commodity for our customers.

"Receiving approval to keep natural gas rates stable is a welcome decision especially at a time when cost of living has been increasing," said Joe Mazza, vice-president, energy supply and resource development at FortisBC. "Our priority remains to deliver safe and reliable energy to our customers while working to decarbonize our system and keep rates as low as possible."

As of April 1, 2022:

• There is no change to the current approved cost of gas rate of $4.503 per gigajoule (GJ).

• Customers in Fort Nelson will not see a change to their current approved cost of gas rate. The current rate is $3.964 per GJ.

FortisBC acquires natural gas at market-based prices and factors like supply and demand and economic conditions affect the price of natural gas in North America. FortisBC flows the cost of gas directly through to the customer, so customers pay what FortisBC pays for the natural gas itself.

For more information about rates and the components that make up a FortisBC gas bill, visit: fortisbc.com/rates. 

FortisBC Energy Inc. is a regulated utility focused on providing safe and reliable energy, including natural gas, renewable gas, propane and thermal energy solutions. FortisBC Energy Inc. employs more than 1,900 British Columbians and serves approximately 1,054,097 customers across British Columbia. FortisBC Energy Inc. owns and operates approximately 50,182 kilometres of natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines. FortisBC Energy Inc. is a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., a leader in the North American regulated electric and gas utility industry. FortisBC Energy Inc. uses the FortisBC name and logo under license from Fortis Inc. For further information on FortisBC, visit www.fortisbc.com. For further information on Fortis Inc., visit www.fortisinc.com.

The basic charge is a flat fee that partially recovers the fixed costs of our system, whether or not you are using any natural gas, as long as you are connected to the system.

The delivery charge is based on consumption and pays for the cost of safely and reliably delivering gas through our system to our customer's home or business. This helps cover the costs of maintaining our natural gas distribution system, provides a return to our investors and funds improvements to meet customers' needs. Delivery charges are reviewed by the BCUC annually.

Storage and transport reflects the prices we pay to other companies to store and transport gas through their pipelines and infrastructure. We do not mark up these costs, and they are reviewed quarterly and set annually by the BCUC.

Every three months, FortisBC reviews the cost of gas rates with the BCUC to make sure rates passed on to customers cover the cost of the commodity purchased on their behalf.  We do not mark up the cost of gas, so customers pay what we pay.

• Factors affecting the market price of natural gas in North America include weather, supply and demand and economic conditions.
• FortisBC does not mark up the cost of gas, customers pay what we pay.

Other charges and taxes include the BC carbon tax, Clean Energy Levy, goods and services tax and, in some municipalities, a municipal operating fee. These charges are set by various levels of government and collected by FortisBC on their behalf. FortisBC does not gain revenue from these charges. On April 1, the provincial carbon tax will be increasing for all gas customers. 

SOURCE FortisBC Energy Inc.