New Natural Gas Initiative - Lock in prices for 5 years - Good idea?

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #1 05-02-2007, 08:35 PM

Hey everybody,

Just a heads up.

Terasen Gas is going to supply natural gas for a new "Planet Energy" initiative to allows customers to lock in their natural gas prices for the next 5 years.

After lots of consumer complaints, BC will follow what all the other provinces have already done & allow customers to lock in rather than be subject to the fluctuations of the market.

Actually, we're in the process of trying to gather as much info from people in other parts of the country as to their personal experiences with fixed prices.

Has it been a good or bad "deal" so far?

The new initiative does not start till Nov.1, 2007, so there is time to research & get feedback. I do believe that Natural Gas prices will continue to rise, but we would like to hear other people's experiences with this fixed price deal before we sign up ourselves or sign up our friends & family.

Thanks,

Anthony

Canadbis · #2 05-02-2007, 08:44 PM

Just make sure there is a clause that stops you from paying more if the price does go down. Happened to us here in Calgary and we got hammered for a few months until it went back up.
It is a good Idea as long as the rate and guarentee are good.

SeaHorse_Fanatic · #3 05-02-2007, 09:18 PM

Yeah, I think that you might save some $$ during the first summer, but with natural gas prices going up over 135% in five years, in the long run, it'll be a money saver.

krisalexander · #4 05-03-2007, 04:58 PM

Hey Anthony,
My neighbour owns CEG energy, one of the companies that is going to be knocking on doors and selling people these new rates. I dont know if everyone is aware but from what he was telling me, BC Hydro only makes money transporting the energy to the transfer stations not as much transferring to individual houses and so BC Hydro is promoting this and they lock you in to a contract for 5 years, the trial ones they have been doing have been a little bit under the real rates. I was going to be a district manager this summer because the pay is great however another thing came up and I had to go for it. I would ask everyone to be nice as the guys knocking on the doors will have been walking all day! I speak from experience. if you want to look at it more try going to http://www.cegenergy.com/bc/index.html Let me know if anyone has any other questions I can ask my neighbour Kirby Morrow.
Thanks

Kris

digital-audiophile · #5 05-03-2007, 05:26 PM

My current insight and forecast from working in an anylist role oil for a major natural gas producer:

Drilling has been at a very low pace so far in 2007 due to low natural gas commodity prices and a large volume of gas in storage faucilities. We do not predict doing a lot more drilling through the balance of the year either. This holds true for most other oil & gas drilling companies in Alberta. There are current pending court battles in regards to the ownership of the natural resources in regards to coal bed methane, the true new fontier in natural gas development. By Q1 of 2008 there will be better clarity around who owns these resources and can exploit them. I am forecasting that as the reserves of gas in storage are depleted and the clarity around resourse ownership are clarified that drilling is going to once again ramp up in Q1 2008 and continue seamless into 2009. The price of natual gas currently is $7.81 USD/MMbtu. I predict that this will climb over $10 in the next 18-24 months. This of course will cause our prices of natural gas delivery to our homes to increase. Locking in may not be a bad idea right now.

- I should add that this is a forward-looking statement and you cannot hold me to any of this if prices drop and you lock in

Veng68 · #6 05-04-2007, 11:40 PM

So Ant,

did you decide to lock in?

I am not sure what I will do.......... but these commission sales people are coming by a bit too often....... since May 1st I've had 4 people.

Cheers,
Vic [veng68]

andresont · #7 05-04-2007, 11:54 PM

This is what i dream about , getting off the grid.

Going Solar and wind energy. Hydro, Oil and Gas companies are just Faceless scum sucking parasites.
Apologies for whoever may be upset or opposed.

justinl · #8 05-05-2007, 12:03 AM

actually i agree. except for with hydro. hydro is actually a somewhat environmentally friendly source of energy. But it is overused, ill admit. i say somewhat because sticking dams all over the place destroys a LOT of habitat.

solar/wind is the best, but not in BC. not enough sun or wind. geothermal may be a good one? *shrug* don't know enough about it.

you know what's freakin hilarious though? translink is coming out (or have they already?) with hydrogen fueled buses. okay great, but where did teh hydrogen come from? oh... yeah... we got that out of... gas. so what was the damn point?!

digital-audiophile · #9 05-05-2007, 03:12 AM

I do agree even though oil and gas pays me. Its just that our world has become dependant of fossil fuels and it is hard to break the habit. I watched a great documentary last week called A Crude Awakening. Worth a watch indeed!

Justusfish · #10 05-05-2007, 05:52 AM

I have my hot water and heat for the house with geothermal that is composed of four 160 foot wells in my backyard that "extract" the heat from the earth below the frost line. Works like a charm, but still uses a bit of power to run the system. I'd LOVE to be completely off the grid, but that is years in the future, I imagine.

My power was out for three days in the snow storm and I was thankful the house had fireplaces as well or I would have frozen to death!!