Centra Gas to hike rate Feb. 1

Manitobans will be paying a bit more to heat their homes this winter.

The Public Utilities Board said the typical residential customer will pay an increase of about $7 per year after it approved a request by Centra Gas Manitoba to raise its rates by 1.1 per cent starting Feb. 1.

The PUB said, in a decision released Monday, that a portion of the increase represents the gas commodity rate, the price which Centra itself pays for natural gas and doesn’t mark up, charging customers only what it has paid.

The rates will go up on Feb. 1 and will be reviewed again by the PUB for May 1.