NEW! ON: Energy Board approves Enbridge application to hike consumer natural gas rates by over 25 per cent
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On September 24, 2020, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) issued a decision granting approval for Enbridge Gas Inc. and EPCOR Natural Gas to increase rates for natural gas customers by over 25 per cent, effective October 1, 2020.
Because these companies are not permitted to increase rates by this much at one time, both companies were required to submit a price adjustment plan to spread this cost out over time.
Enbridge and EPCOR cite “upward pressure on commodity prices associated with a decrease in natural gas production “has led to higher future pricing” and the reason for this increase.
Without the approved price mitigation scheme, Enbridge documents state their customers would have been subject to increases ranging from 17.5 to 33.4 per cent, depending on location. The plan the OEB approved spreads the impact out over time, thereby reducing rate increases ranging from 13.3 to 23.7 per cent.
Natural gas companies can apply for such increases four times a year and the OEB has a track record of granting these increase requests. Recent OEB decisions show that in cases where energy suppliers are in contravention of approved guidelines and practices, the board does not require damages or penalties to be paid.
The CPA is asking all members working in Ontario to warn customers of this recent decision, contact your local MPP to express concern about government sanctioned and subsidized energy contracts and call the OEB’s consumer inquiry line at 416-314-2455 or 1-877-632-2727 to demand an end to ongoing approvals for consumer price gouging.
The CPA will be launching a social media campaign to raise awareness of this most recent price increase by natural gas companies at a time when many Ontarians have reduced household incomes due to COVID-19. The campaign will include a consumer protection warning to Ontarians being enticed to switch to natural gas, that the true cost of natural gas is everchanging and subject to significant increases at many times throughout the year.
The OEB backgrounder document on this decision is available here.
