Centra Gas Seeks A 15.9% Rate Decrease For August 1, 2001

-- Centra Gas, a subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro, has requested approval from the Public Utilities Board of Manitoba to further decrease its Primary Gas rate, effective August 1, 2001. This request amends Centra's June 27, 2001, application that requested approval for a 6.9% decrease and a 22.18¢ per cubic metre Primary Gas rate. If approved, the Primary Gas rate for all customers who receive their Primary Gas supply from Centra will be 17.76 cents per cubic metre, starting August 1. Centra's Primary Gas rate has been 29.22 cents per cubic metre since February 1, 2001.

In the same application, Centra requested approval for the Primary Gas Deferral Rider, or PGDR, rate, a new component that will appear on customer bills, effective August 1, 2001. If approved, the PGDR rate will be 3.63 cents per cubic metre and will be charged to applicable customers over a 24-month period, from August 1, 2001, to July 31, 2003.

The combined effect of reducing the Primary Gas rate and introducing the PGDR rate means that a typical residential customer who purchases their Primary Gas from Centra will see an average decrease of 15.9% or $233 per year on their annual natural gas bill. Non-residential Centra Primary Gas customers will see decreases between 16.1% and 21.6%, depending on customer class and consumption.