Northerners unhappy with Enbridge rate hike on Oct. 1
Enbridge gas tells CTV News that its five per cent rate hike on Oct. 1 will cost its customers in northeastern Ontario an extra $160 a year, on average. And people in Timmins are unhappy.
Rates in this region will have jumped up more than 150 per cent over last year, from about 15 cents per cubic metre of natural gas to about 38 cents, once the new hike takes effect.
When added to the other increases since Oct. 1, 2021, this latest bump makes the annual cost of heating around $500 more expensive than last year, according to Enbridge.
"It's a bit upsetting," said Leona Brazeau, a senior in Timmins.
"I've already had my October bill and it went up $100 already."
A local homeowner and landlord said the rate increase will affect her twofold.
Sylvie Laporte said she will have to find other ways to heat her home and some of her tenants have already been reaching out with financial concerns over the regular increases this past year.
"I'm lucky I have a wood stove, so I will be probably reigniting my wood stove this winter," Laporte said, adding that some of her tenants are on pension and disability support.
"We're trying to be fair landlords and keep it reasonable for tenants ... (but) everything else going up. The mortgage rates at the bank going up. It's affecting everyone's bottom dollar."
Enbridge's media relations manager, Andrea Stass, said this is all because of added market pressure caused by the Russia-Ukraine conflict and higher global demand for North American natural gas.
Stass said Enbridge is paying more for natural gas and that it passes down those extra costs to customers as part of its regular rate changes every four months.
"We understand that that's difficult for customers, particularly when we're facing rising prices for just about everything, related to inflation," she said.
"We do offer programs for low-income customers that may be facing some challenges."
Stass said Enbridge offers grants and payment plans for people having trouble paying their bills.
The company also offers a rebate of up to $5,000 for home renovations that can help reduce energy use and, therefore, people's bills.
Pricing tends to be more expensive in the winter due to higher demand, Stass said, and the hope is that these hikes won't continue into the new year.
Enbridge is the largest provider of natural gas to homes in Ontario and the company suggests people with financial concerns contact its representatives to go over options.
Local customers told CTV News they just hope relief comes soon, either in the global market, government action or Enbridge deciding to compromise on its profits.
"We just hope that something will come out of this and Enbridge can stop, probably, being not as greedy," said Laporte.
"We hope the government can step on and help northerners with all of this. They're hitting the little people's bottom dollar."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.