The long, cold winter of 2013-14 took its toll on SaskEnergy’s natural gas supply.
The company had to purchase more gas at higher prices and on May 16 asked the Saskatchewan Rate Review Panel for a commodity rate increase.
This would be the first increase in six years. Since November 2008, the rate has decreased four times to the current $3.82 per gigajoule.
The proposed rate is $4.84/GJ and that would increase the average residential monthly bill by $9.57.
SaskEnergy chief executive officer Doug Kelln said even with the hike, the province’s rate would be one of the lowest in the country.
Read Also
Alberta Crop Report: Rains in the south, dryness in the north
Rain fell onto the southern half of Alberta last week, while hot and dry conditions persisted in the northern half, according to the province’s crop report released on July 18.
“We appreciate it was difficult for homeowners to face higher heating bills from coping with one of the coldest winters in decades, but SaskEnergy kept rates stable during the highest consumption months,” he said.
SaskEnergy typically secures 20 million GJ of natural gas supply for a normal winter and also has 18 million GJ in storage. Increased demand this past winter required the purchase of an extra eight million GJ, or enough to heat 100,000 more homes through the entire winter, the company said.
The proposed rate will take effect July 1, if approved.
Last month the rate review panel approved a 5.5 percent rate increase for SaskPower, retroactive to Jan. 1, conditionally approved a five percent increase for next Jan. 1 and denied a further five percent increase for Jan. 1, 2016.
