Latest news with #PublicUtilitiesBoard
CBC
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- CBC
Gas up 6 cents across N.L. before Victoria Day weekend
People getting ready to head out on Newfoundland and Labrador's highways for a Victoria Day weekend of camping and travel got a tough surprise Friday morning, when the price of gasoline jumped by over six cents per litre. The Public Utilities Board's weekly price adjustment set the price of self-serve gasoline on the Avalon Peninsula at just under $1.52 per litre. Prices vary across the rest of the province depending on location, but range between $1.52 and $1.67 per litre in Newfoundland and between $1.58 and $1.85 per litre in Labrador. Most other fuels also increased Friday. Diesel rose by 6.3 cents per litre, putting maximum prices between $1.50 and $1.63 per litre in Newfoundland and between $1.62 and $1.91 per litre in Labrador. The price of furnace oil increased by over 5.4 cents per litre, meaning customers in Newfoundland will pay between $1.10 and $1.30 per litre depending on their location. Stove oil increased by over 5.5 cents per litre across Labrador West and Churchill Falls. That means maximum prices across the Big Land now range between $1.22 and $1.53 per litre depending on location. Propane saw the largest fluctuation of the week, and was the only fuel to decrease in price. An 8.4 cent-per-litre drop in maximum prices mean they now range between $1 and $1.15 per litre in Newfoundland and between 86 cents and $1.11 per litre in Labrador.
Global News
24-04-2025
- Business
- Global News
Manitoba regulator approves natural gas rate hike, cites market conditions
See more sharing options Send this page to someone via email Share this item on Twitter Share this item via WhatsApp Share this item on Facebook Manitoba's energy regulator has approved higher natural gas prices. The Public Utilities Board says rates for a typical residential customer will rise 12.4 per cent, or about $73 a year, starting May 1. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy The board says the increase is due to several market factors, including reduced natural gas storage levels in North America following a colder winter. Higher demand for liquefied natural gas was also cited. Gas rates are reviewed regularly and the next review is slated for August. Gas commodity rates for customers who have signed fixed-term, fixed-price contracts are not affected.
CBC
24-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Average Manitoba gas bill going up 12% after regulator approves rate hike
Overall gas bills for most residential customers in Manitoba are set to go up by more than 10 per cent for the year after a rate increase coming into effect next month. The Public Utilities Board has approved an application by Centra Gas Manitoba that it projects will raise the annual bill for the typical residential customer by 12.4 per cent, or about $73 per year, with rate changes effective May 1. The board's decision, released Thursday, said the rate increase is based on factors including increased North American demand for gas during a colder 2024-25 winter and increased demand for liquefied natural gas exports. The decision says the board acknowledges the increase "may result in difficulty for some residential and other customers in paying their bills," and adds it expects Centra Gas to continue working with customers who are struggling to pay energy bills through things like payment arrangements or equal payment plan enrolments. The latest increase comes after the PUB approved a 2.6 per cent increase effective Feb. 1, amounting to $15 more a year for the typical customer. The Centra Gas rates are reviewed and approved quarterly. The next rate adjustment will be Aug. 1.
Winnipeg Free Press
24-04-2025
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Natural gas rates to rise 12 per cent May 1
Starting May 1, Manitoba homeowners will pay about 12 per cent more for natural gas. The Public Utilities Board approved the application of Centra Gas Manitoba Inc., which is projected to increase the annual bill for a typical residential customer by nearly $73 per year, or 12.4 per cent, a news release noted Thursday. The rate increase is the result of forecast increases in the expected costs of purchasing natural gas over the next 12 months. Natural gas rates are reviewed quarterly in February, May, August and November. The rate will be reviewed again for Aug. 1, the PUB stated. Centra Gas — a subsidiary of Crown corporation Manitoba Hydro — charges customers only what it pays for gas and does not make a profit on its sale. The rate hike that takes effect May 1 is the result of several natural gas market factors, including reduced storage levels in North America following a colder winter and higher demand for North American liquefied natural gas, the PUB said. Gas commodity rates for customers that have signed fixed-term, fixed-price contracts, with either Centra or a private broker, are not affected. The natural gas increase is separate from the three-year electricity rate increase Manitoba Hydro submitted to the PUB on March 28. The public power utility is seeking a total rate increase of 10.5 per cent over three years, starting in 2026. The PUB is an impartial tribunal and regulator, at arm's-length from government that acts in the public interest. It issued a separate notice Thursday approving a May 1 decrease in the propane commodity rate provided to customers through Stittco Utilities Ltd. pipeline distribution systems in Thompson, Flin Flon and Snow Lake. The new rate works out to a decrease in the average residential annual bill of approximately 11 per cent, or $209 per year, when compared to current propane rates that were approved Feb. 1. Actual customer impacts will depend on propane consumption, the PUB said. Stittco's propane rates will be reviewed again for Aug 1.
CBC
14-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Manitoba 'repatriating' some hydro exports from U.S. to power Canadian projects instead
Manitoba will cancel some hydroelectricity exports to the U.S. in an effort to power more homegrown projects, Premier Wab Kinew says. Manitoba will let two of its hydroelectric agreements which exported power across the southern border expire, Kinew told reporters on Monday. The province is "repatriating" that power to invest in Canadian projects as trade tensions with the U.S. drag on, he said. "We saw that there's 500 [megawatts] of export contracts that are expiring at the end of the month, and so we've decided as Canadians and as Manitobans [that] we are going to use that power to build up our own economy here at home," he said. One of those export agreements was with a Minnesota-based power company, Kinew said, adding that he'd already spoken to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz about the move and the governor was understanding. However, Manitoba will still sell electricity to the U.S., he said. "We're still going to be good partners, and reliable partners, for our American export market," Kinew said. "But the reality is, we're also going to step up to a new level of engagement in terms of leading the energy conversation in Canada." 'Appetite' for a big Canadian trade, energy project While Manitoba Hydro's rates are frozen for this year, it has applied for a series of three annual electricity rate hikes of 3.5 per cent, beginning in 2026. Drought and low water levels over the last two years have caused Manitoba Hydro's revenues to dip, the Crown corporation said in its recent rate application to the Public Utilities Board. Kinew did not answer a question about the financial implications of the move on Manitoba Hydro, which is already carrying $24.6 billion worth of debt — $940 million higher than previously forecast. Kinew said he wants Manitoba Hydro to set aside 50 megawatts of power to be dedicated to a transmission line to Nunavut in the north. "Can we put a transmission line there? Can we attach broadband to it? Can we connect that Churchill along the way and open up opportunities here in Manitoba? I think we can," he said. Representatives from Nunavut will be in Manitoba on Wednesday to sign an agreement, and Kinew says he hopes the federal government will be on board after the federal election later this month. The remaining 450 megawatts could be used to power a potential trade corridor heading into eastern or western Canada, said Kinew. "I think there's an appetite to approve a big energy and trade project that crosses provincial and territorial borders," he said.
