THUNDER BAY -- Although the municipality is reducing its energy use, the bill will cost 7.5 per cent more next year.
City administration presented city council with an anticipated $16,287,790 energy bill for 2017 on Monday night, a $1.14-million increase over the energy budget council approved for 2016.
The report showed the municipality intends to reduce electricity consumption by nearly four per cent, for 2 million reduced kilowatt hours in 2017. It will reduce its natural gas consumption almost 14 per cent or 824,000 cubic metres.
Any savings those reductions could have brought the city, however, are being more than offset as the cost of electricity is increasing 20 per cent and natural gas is rising by two per cent.
“Our energy consumption for the corporation of the City of Thunder Bay is decreasing and because it’s decreasing we are able to mitigate some of the costs but the reality is the costs of the utilities are increasing," said energy analyst Vanessa Digiacomo-Zwaresh.
"By reducing our consumption, we are mitigating the cost.”
The city has reduced its total electricity use by a cumulative total of 53,3 million kilowatt hours since 2009, almost an entire year's consumption at the 2016 rate of 58.36 million for a cumulative savings of $6.9 million. Total natural gas reductions over the same period amount to 859,000 cubic metres for a cumulative savings of $282,000.
The new provincial Cap and Trade program is expected to cost the city an additional $350,000 in 2017. Diesel fuel will increase 4.7 cents per litre while gasoline will increase 4.3 cents per litre. Digiacomo-Zwaresh said the municipality might be eligible for $100,000 in rebates but that figure is not calculated into next year's cost.
