What factors can affect my natural gas bill?

A gas bill looks like one number but it is really three, and they move independently. Understanding which is which explains most of the surprises.

The largest driver is simply how much gas you use. Consumption swings enormously with the weather — a Saskatchewan household can burn several times more in January than in July — and also with how well the house is sealed, the age of the furnace, and the thermostat setting. This is the part you have the most control over.

The second is the price of the gas itself, the supply charge. It moves with the wholesale market, which responds to weather, storage levels, and supply and demand across North America. On a variable-rate plan, ours included, that rate changes month to month. Some months it will sit below your utility’s default rate and some months above it.

The third is delivery and fixed charges. These are set by your utility and reviewed by the regulator, and they are the same whoever supplies your gas. On a typical bill they are around two-thirds of the total, which is why no supplier can honestly promise to cut your bill by a large percentage — most of it was never theirs to touch.

Taxes and any account-level fees sit on top of all three.

Where the rebate fits: we pay back 15% of the gas supply charge, excluding taxes, delivery and fixed fees. It accrues every month and is paid by cheque 1 to 4 times a year, once the accrued balance passes $100 or twelve months elapse, whichever comes first.