Propane price surges to impact northern rural residents, local industries
As prices of oil and gas rise during the pandemic, commodity experts are saying it's also affecting the price of propane.
It's impacts are being seen around the country, with a propane supplier in Timmins telling CTV that prices in the area have soared up to 200 per cent.
"Right now, it's over double what it was last year," said Propane Energy Solutions' Timmins regional manager Dominic Palermo.
Wholesale prices of propane this time last year were in the range of $0.20 per litre, Palermo said, and current prices are closer to $0.60 cents. The extra cost are then passed down to consumers.
This is leading to concerns over the impacts on residents in rural communities, as well as industries like construction, which rely on propane for heat during the winter months.
Higher rural northern heating costs
Timmins city councillor John Curley said he has constituents that power their homes with propane, who he worries will face challenges due to the price surge.
"It's going to be devastating for a lot of them," Curley said.
"Our prices up here, I find, already are high."
Costs of gas tend to be higher in northern Ontario than other parts of the province — and with propane being a byproduct of oil and natural gas, it typically follows the price fluctuations of those commodities.
Palermo said residential propane customers who locked in a one-year fixed rate contract earlier this year are being spared the full brunt of the price surges, but are still seeing a 20 to 30 per cent increase over last year.
He gave the example of a 1,200 square foot home, which would typically use up to 5000 litres of propane in a year, normally costing roughly $3000. That cost would jump closer to $4000 this year, under a fixed rate contract.
Those ineligible for a contract, however, are subjected to the price changes as they happen, potentially costing them hundreds of dollars more.
The worry for Curley is that those who cannot bear even a 30 per cent extra cost will have to make up for that by heating only certain rooms of their homes, using less heat or accessing food banks.
Pandemic supply shortage
The surges are due to a shortage of supply in Canada, said Palermo, in part a result of lower production during the pandemic.
Moreover, he said the country exporting much of its propane supply overseas is exacerbating the domestic shortage.
"They're getting a better bang for their buck by exporting it," Palermo said.
While municipalities have no power over this, Curley said he wants to see action from the federal and provincial governments.
"We have to find some sort of regulation to keep the prices fair," he said.
Larger impact on industries
But Palermo said the largest impact of the price surges will be on industries like construction, who have no options of protection against rising costs.
Many construction projects are not yet hooked up to natural gas, he said, and so must use propane to heat their sites and buy it at the current price.
Palermo foresees this causing a negative ripple-effect throughout the winter.
"Any time you're dealing with propane in the winter time, there's a huge effect when you have a shortage," Palermo said. "It affects many different markets."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'