Chatham, Ontario: Union Gas announced January 19 that the OEB had approved a change in the rates its customers will pay effective February 1, 2018 for natural gas distribution, transmission and storage. Residential Union Gas customers in southern Ontario will see a bill increase of about $91 a year. Residential customers in northern and eastern Ontario served by Union Gas will see bill increases ranging between about $111 and $141 per year depending on location.
The changes include adjustments in delivery rates to recover the expected costs to store and deliver natural gas to homes and business and adjustments in transportation rates to reflect changes in the cost of transporting natural gas.
The increase follows two successive rate decreases in October 2017, and January 2018, to adjust for the reduced market price of natural gas. Combined, those adjustments resulted in bill reductions of between $45 and $79 (depending on location), for an average residential customer using 2,200 m3 of natural gas a year. The rates will remain in effect from Feb.1 through Dec. 31, 2018.