Surprise,Surprise, The Cost To Heat Your Home Is Going Up

Tuesday, December 18, 2007 12:17 PM

Terasen Gas has been given approval for a 4% rate increase for its delivery costs for natural gas in most sections of the province.

The British Columbia Utilities Commission has now approved the request which will see the price of natural gas increases effective Janauary1st-2008.

The 4% increase is expected to raise the price for natural gas to the average home in this region by about $43 to $52 dollars per year. That figure depends largely on the size of the home and the amount of product being burned.

Terasen supplies natural gas throiugh its lines in Prince George to customers and the city. Under the franchise agreement with the city, the city stands to increase its revenue from the company through this latest increase.

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Posted on Tuesday, December 18, 2007 12:17 PM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: diplomat on December 18 2007 2:15 PM

"Under the franchise agreement with the city, the city stands to increase its revenue from the company through this latest increase."

Good news! Finally (I am absolutely sure!) we will get some of the most pesky re-appearing potholes and stretches of torture track (read: roads)fixed, permanently, definitely, as promised long ago!

Posted by: RRrabbitt on December 18 2007 3:32 PM

Nooooppppeee.

Not so Mr. Diplomat... extra money coming in does not translate to better wagon trails. It just means the pot at City Hall will be a bit thicker and your pocket will be a little thinner.

Terasen uses the arguement that increased costs from managing the new competition in gas sales is a big reason for the bump.

Wow !!... and someone said that thinking your customers are stupid would never pay...

Goodtimes !!

:-)

Posted by: realitysetsin on December 18 2007 4:10 PM

We are actually pretty lucky. Consider this. The furnace in my house is circa 1982, works fine, just it's old and likely around 60% efficient (new ones are up to about 95% I think)

During a cold snap 2 years ago one gas bill shocked me and it was $300 for a month! $300!!!

But then I got to thinking, $300 for 30 days heat. $10 a day. Would I turn off the heat to save $10? Not a chance! Many people line up to spend $6 on a coffee at Starbucks.

My point is, yah, it sucks, but keep it in perspective.

Posted by: diplomat on December 18 2007 4:18 PM

Soon the greenhouse gas police will come after you to install a new more efficient furnace - or switch to wood pellet heating.

After 25 years the heat exchanger can start to leak and carbon monoxide may escape into the house...

It may be time to bite the bullet.

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on December 18 2007 5:15 PM

No wonder the Clean Air Coalition is in such a rush to block the use of wood heat. Did they know the price of natural gas was going up?

Posted by: realitysetsin on December 18 2007 10:32 PM

Good point diplomat. I've been pricing them out but as of yet can't make sense of the payback. However the carbon monoxide is another angle to consider.

Since that first year in this house I have taken measure to decrease my fuel use, spot heating, fancy thermostat, improved the seal on windows etc, use the pellet stove etc. Highest bill last year was about $200 or so, but electric bill went up from spot heating probably $20 a month for a net savings of about $80. (I have no idea what the fuel price did during this time so can't isolate my savings vs. market)

Posted by: owl on December 19 2007 1:00 AM

The payback on a furnace upgrade of the type you speak of is in the 15 to 20 year range.

The heat exchanger can be replaced. The fan can be replaced.

Other systems can be looked at. Heat exchangers may have a better payback, especially when a house has been sealed tighter than a drum since fresh air is required in a house.

Putting in spot electric heat can be counter productive if electricity is more expensive than gas. We may be getting close to looking at electricity as competitive to gas.

http://www.enblue.com/tips-and-tricks/midvshigh.htm#

That site is from the Ottawa area which has similar number of degree days as PG.

"The current payback for gas savings can be approximately $ 80- $ 100 per year"

Posted by: YamaDooPolCat on December 19 2007 7:54 AM

Install a wood stove and have no gas bill.

Posted by: diplomat on December 19 2007 8:03 AM

The installation of a more efficient natural gas heating appliance will result in an immediate reduction of the carbon footprint of that residence.

Plus, the monthly heating bills will go down quite a bit.

Win-win for the wallet and for the Earth.

Posted by: realitysetsin on December 20 2007 10:33 AM

Diplomat, say the new furnace is 3 grand installed. Assume 95% efficiency vs the current 65%.

So 30% savings...$540 bucks a year on a $1800 yearly bill. Payback is still well over 5 years. In reality I think a 95% efficient furnace is more like $4500 or so installed.

Of course the carbon footprint reduction is worth.....something.......