Fortis BC are out and out thieves

[wanderingman]

Fortis BC just raised Natural gas prices 42% effective april 01/14 and not a peep out of news groups or goverenment what a figging rip off. Thats why manopolys should be illeagl in our society
BC has more nat gas than we know what to do with and yet we get charged outrageous rates

[NAB]

March 14, 2014
SURREY, B.C. – FortisBC has received direction from the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) to increase natural gas commodity rates for most customers starting April 1. Piped propane customers living in Revelstoke will also see an increase in their commodity rates.

[wanderingman]

NAB you should work for the government as your scale is so skewed.Two things jump out here.The 42% figure was based on what the pre april 1/14 price was ($3.27) and what the post April 1/14 price is ($4.64) 42% increase
second off the 2008 price of 9.78 dollars was a all in price.obviously u dont really know how a gas bill is now billed verses back in 08/09
a gas bill these days is billed in 3 sections delivery, mid stream and commodity cost currently $3.62 $1.219 and $4.64 =$9.48 plus the several BC taxes so i suppose in reality Nat gas prices have reverted back to 2008 prices. BUT there was NO decreaee in Nat gas prices
FIFTY THREE% DID NOT HAPPEN

[NAB]

Well, my last Natural Gas bill was based on $14.325 per GJ total (plus the daily basic service charge and taxes). What was yours?

The price of the commodity itself (that graph- currently around $4.64) is based on the cost of the commodity (to Fortis) only, and that for sure has been trending down since 2000. The other billing components have nothing to do with the market price Fortis pays (and simply passes on to their customer) for natural gas.



Nab

[Rwede]

Fortis BC just raised Natural gas prices 42% effective april 01/14 and not a peep out of news groups or goverenment what a figging rip off. Thats why manopolys should be illeagl in our society
BC has more nat gas than we know what to do with and yet we get charged outrageous rates

Maybe you should have signed on with one of the guaranteed rate companies if variable rates aren't for you.

Fortis (old Terasen) advertises extensively that their system of pricing will vary as commodity prices for NG go up or down.

You chose to go with Fortis and your bill went up when the commodity did.

Whose fault is it that you made that choice?

[wanderingman]

so far two people replyed whom have not a clue as to what my thread was all about oh well off to the rodeo

[Liquidnails]

Is there a graph anywhere displaying the trend of the service and delivery charges over time?

[A_Britishcolumbian]

the www.fortisbc.com site is rather complex to navigate.

nab has posted the one pop up graph from the site, and the graph that came with the paper bill.

here are some relevant pages from the site, but nothing that puts out a nice tidy picture that i can find.

http://www.fortisbc.com/About/Regulator ... dule_1.pdf

http://www.fortisbc.com/About/Regulator ... rior-.aspx

http://www.fortisbc.com/NaturalGas/Home ... gions.aspx

http://www.fortisbc.com/NaturalGas/Home ... fault.aspx

http://www.fortisbc.com/NaturalGas/Home ... -gas.aspx#

[NAB]

After Fortis took over from Terasen, it is my understanding that a bit of a hodgepodge of regional gas utilities, and variances in mid-stream and delivery rates existed and they inherited that situation. They applied to the BCUC some time ago in an effort to develop a more standardized structure throughout BC. As far as I know they have not yet achieved that, but I read...

Earlier this year, FortisBC received BCUC approval for amalgamation of its gas utilities and adoption of common natural gas rates, with the exception of the Fort Nelson service area. This will provide greater rate stability, fairness and simplicity for customers. Following this regulatory decision, the amalgamation must receive consent from the Lieutenant Governor in Council. If approved, customers will see changes to their bill resulting from amalgamation beginning in 2015.

You can probably find more detail on the historical and current situation at the BCUC web site.

Nab

[mikest2]

I don't know what all the complaints are about. I'd love to have natural gas.
My current Fortis electrical rates are $0.08803 for the first1600 kWh in a 60 day period, and $0.12952 for every kWh after that.
If a GJ of natural gas costs $14.325, and there are 277.77 kWh in a GJ, then a kWh of natural gas only costs $0.0517
Then they have the nerve to call the electrical two tier rate a "conservation rate"
So much for clean electricity, let's burn fossil fuels for half the price

[hobbyguy]

Not a lot to complain about regarding natural gas prices. We have been paying less than half of what we were paying 8-10 years ago. We are still only paying about 2/3 of the "long term price forecasts" of around $6.50 that were prevalent at the time - which is why I never even considered locking into the "private" seller contracts at roughly $10.

You have to think of our natural gas price system like you do mortgages. The Fortis rate is like a variable rate mortgage - some risk involved, but mostly cheaper short-term and mid-term.

The basis of the whole price structure goes right back to the US/Canada free trade deal and NAFTA. Part of that deal is that "we" get to pay "world" prices (well sort of, actually the US definition of "world" prices) for the commodities we sell. If you think that is a rip off, talk to Brian Mulroney.

For some wider perspective, have a look at the price comparison graph in this article: http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/average-natural-gas-prices-compare. Then think about the price the poor sods in Europe are going to have to pay if the Ukraine situation blows up completely and the Russians play their trump card.

We are blessed with very affordable natural gas, and stable supply.

[NAB]

You probably wouldn't feel that way if you lived on Vancouver Island. People there would love to be able to get natural gas service for the price mainland customers pay for it. Fortis even wanted to lower the rates on the Island as part of their attempt to standardize and make rates more fair province wide, but the Liberal Government via the BCUC wouldn't approve it.

We should know full well who the REAL thieves are by now, whether talking about Natural Gas or Electricity..

Nab

[wanderingman]

You probably wouldn't feel that way if you lived on Vancouver Island. People there would love to be able to get natural gas service for the price mainland customers pay for it. Fortis even wanted to lower the rates on the Island as part of their attempt to standardize and make rates more fair province wide, but the Liberal Government via the BCUC wouldn't approve it.

We should know full well who the REAL thieves are by now, whether talking about Natural Gas or Electricity..

Nab

the government did the correct thing.Its bad enough the tax payers on the mainland subsidize the ferry,s
that people whom live on Vancouver island,why should we also subsidize the Nat gas for those same people that need the ferrys

[wanderingman]

Not a lot to complain about regarding natural gas prices. We have been paying less than half of what we were paying 8-10 years ago. We are still only paying about 2/3 of the "long term price forecasts" of around $6.50 that were prevalent at the time - which is why I never even considered locking into the "private" seller contracts at roughly $10.

You have to think of our natural gas price system like you do mortgages. The Fortis rate is like a variable rate mortgage - some risk involved, but mostly cheaper short-term and mid-term.

The basis of the whole price structure goes right back to the US/Canada free trade deal and NAFTA. Part of that deal is that "we" get to pay "world" prices (well sort of, actually the US definition of "world" prices) for the commodities we sell. If you think that is a rip off, talk to Brian Mulroney.

For some wider perspective, have a look at the price comparison graph in this article: http://shrinkthatfootprint.com/average-natural-gas-prices-compare. Then think about the price the poor sods in Europe are going to have to pay if the Ukraine situation blows up completely and the Russians play their trump card.

We are blessed with very affordable natural gas, and stable supply.

WE ARE NOT PAYING LESS THAN 1/2 the rates 10 years ago as they were all inclusive. NOW we pay X for gas Y for delivery and Z for mid steam plus more taxes now. the 9.80 u price u see for Nat gas 10 years ago was all inclusive of the X+Z So NO we are not paying 1/2 what we paid 10 years ago

[alfred2]

are you paying less now then 10 years ago.?