Homeowners in Southwestern Ontario will soon have a few extra dollars in their pockets thanks to a reduction in natural gas rates.
Union Gas Spokesperson Andrea Stass says residents should start to see the savings soon.
"The Ontario board did recently approve a reduction in the rates that our customers pay for natural gas. That went into effect on January 1 of this year. It is a decrease of about $28 a year if you live in Southwestern Ontario. That's about 4% of your total natural gas bill," says Stass.
According to Stass, natural gas is a commodity so the price of it goes up and down with supply and demand.
"The reduction that we're implementing really reflects a reduction in what we expect the price of natural gas moving forward. It is the market price of natural gas and we adjust our rates for that around four times a year," says Stass.
Stass says this is the second consecutive reduction in natural gas, which is good news for consumers.
"Anytime you can reduce your energy costs in your home that frees up money to spend for other things that are important to your family. I think this is good news for consumers. Natural gas generally is the lowest cost way to heat your home and hot water, but of course, we're always looking for any way to save additional money in our home," says Stass.
Stass says this rate change means that the average annual bill for a residential home in Southern Ontario is about $783 a year. She says that number varies depending on the number of residents and size of the home, but on average it is close to $800 a year to heat your home and water with natural gas.
Stass adds that residents will see an increase of about $5 a year from the newly implemented carbon tax. However, she points out that the market price of natural gas going down is offsetting some of those costs.
"Part of this rate change did include a small increase for the cost for us to comply with the Ontario government's cap and trade program for 2018. The program actually went into effect 2017 and there was a cost to consumers. Now as we look into 2018, we're adjusting the cost of those emission credits," explains Stass.
Stass says if residents want to reduce their bill for the amount of gas they use, there is information on Union Gas' website about incentives and rebates that the company offers.