Natural gas bills set to increase Aug. 1: Public Utilities Board

Manitobans using natural gas will see an increase on their hydro bills next monthas rates increase on Aug. 1, the Public Utilities Boardsays.

The board approved the application for an increase by Centra Gas Manitoba Inc., a division of Manitoba Hydro,to boost the primary gas (natural gas) rate from 0.1045 centsper cubic metreto 0.1323 cents per cubic metre.

This will result in an 8.7 per cent increase or approximately $58 more per year on average for residential customers, the utilities board said in a news release Tuesday.

The boardsays customers withfixed-term or fixed-price contracts with CentraGas or private brokers will not be affected by the increase, which will be reviewed again on Nov. 1, 2021.

CentraGas sells primary gas to Manitoba customers on a cost-recovery basiswithout markups through Manitoba Hydro.

The costs of primary gas aredetermined by the market price of natural gas in Western Canada, the PUB says.

More informationis available on the Public Utility Board's website.