In a recent decision from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), FortisBC’s piped propane customers in Revelstoke will see a commodity rate decrease starting October 1, 2012. The basic and delivery rates for piped propane will not change from this decision.
“As part of our quarterly commodity rate review with the BCUC, piped propane customers in Revelstoke are going to see a noticeable decrease on the commodity portion of their bills,” said Cynthia Des Brisay, vice president of energy supply and resource development FortisBC. “This is largely due to lower crude prices and increased supplies of propane in North America. Since propane is extracted from crude oil and processed from natural gas, the price of propane is impacted by these energy commodities – particularly the cost of crude oil.”
Propane customers will see a commodity rate decrease of $6.521 per GJ. The average residential customer using 50 GJ per year of piped propane will see a decrease of approximately $326 per year or a 28 per cent decrease.
FortisBC buys propane on behalf of its customers and passes that price on without mark-up. Every three months, FortisBC reviews propane and natural gas commodity rates with the BCUC to make sure rates passed on to customers cover the cost of purchasing the gas on their behalf. Factors affecting the market price of propane and natural gas in North America include weather, supply and demand, and economic conditions. Propane prices are also influenced by global oil markets.
For more information on natural gas and propane rates by region, how commodity rates are set, and to learn more about FortisBC visit www.fortisbc.com/rates.
For more information about how the price of gas is determined visit www.fortisbc.com/costofgas.