FortisBC maintains cost of gas rates for customers

Mar 17, 2021

SURREY, BC, March 17, 2021 ­– FortisBC Energy Inc. (FortisBC) has received approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to maintain the cost of gas rates at current levels for all of its customers until June 30, 2021. As such, FortisBC customers will not see a change to the cost of gas 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 delivery to its customers.

“We understand that energy costs are an important decision in household budgets,” said Diane Roy, vice-president of regulatory affairs with FortisBC. “Our priority remains to deliver safe and reliable energy to our customers while working to keep rates as low as possible. When it comes to the cost of natural gas, we don’t make a profit on it. Our customers pay exactly what we pay.”

As of April 1, 2021:

Mainland and Vancouver Island (including North and South Interior), Whistler and Revelstoke

• There is no change to the current approved cost of gas rate of $2.844 per gigajoule (GJ).

Fort Nelson

• Customers in Fort Nelson will not see a change to their current approved cost of gas rate. The current rate is $2.999 per GJ.

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

BACKGROUNDER

Historical data for Mainland & Vancouver Island (including North and South interior)

Items on a residential customer’s bill

Daily or monthly basic charge

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.

Delivery charge

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, provide a return to our investors and fund improvements to meet customers' needs. Delivery charges are reviewed by the BCUC annually.

Storage and transport

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.

Cost of gas

Every three months, FortisBC reviews the cost of gas rates with the British Columbia Utilities Commission to make sure rates passed on to customers cover the cost of the commodity purchased on their behalf. We do not markup 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

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, 2021 the BC carbon tax will be increasing for all gas customers.

 

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