TERRACE
1.34
$
S TANDARD
$1.20 PLUS 14¢ HST
VOL. 25 NO. 12
www.terracestandard.com
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Residential gas costs drop NORTHWEST residents received a bit of good news for their pockets books as of July 1. An application by Pacific Northern Gas (PNG) to lower the residential rate for natural gas was accepted by the BC Utilities Commission. Pacific Northern Gas (PNG) cut the rate it charges for natural gas itself by 50 cents a gigajoule – from $4.06 a gigajoule to $3.56 – or 12
per cent. That drops the overall rate to $15.027 a gigajoule or three per cent, once the delivery cost is factored in, and would be the second rate reduction this year. The first was as of Jan. 1 and both reductions reflect the continuing drop in the price of natural gas caused by an increase in supply. PNG is a delivery utility and passes through what it pays for
natural gas to its customers. It cannot add to the price of the gas. There is no change to the delivery cost of natural gas in the area. PNG has for some time been hedging the price of the natural gas it buys – essentially fixing a future price now to avoid the possibility of having to pay more if it is bought on the open market at that future date. But the utility stopped doing
that a year ago and all of its hedge agreements will be finished this fall, says PNG official Janet Kennedy. It means PNG could apply to lower the rate it charges for natural gas itself even more as those hedge agreements end and as current prices for natural gas fall. “The current wellhead price for gas in northeast BC is approximately $1.80/GJ and reflects sup-
ply and demand fundamentals that currently exist in the marketplace,” said Kennedy. “PNG is not able to forecast future gas costs (which are passed on to our customers with no mark-up), but there continues to be substantial media coverage regarding the significant (and growing) supply situation of natural gas in Northeast BC and across the continent,” she said.
Intersection to be made safer A HIGH number of car crashes over the years has the city looking at how to make one of its intersections safer. The intersection of Keith Ave. and Kenney St. on the southside, which has stop signs for Keith Ave. traffic but none on Kenney, is third from the top for accidents and will see improvements to try and reduce these numbers. “It’s important to reduce the number of accidents at any intersection if the means are affordable and doable,” said the city’s director of public works Herb Dusdal. “It is one of the highest ranked intersection for accidents and as such it warrants whatever improvements we can afford to make it safer.” The city will add more rumble strips and signs telling drivers there are stop signs ahead on Keith Ave. as crash numbers weren’t high enough compared to traffic volume to warrant a four-way stop intersection. “The intersection did not meet the requirements for a four way stop,” said Dusdal. The intersection, from 2005 – 2011, has seen 18 collisions, according to statistics provided to the city by ICBC. But following an April 23 collision at the intersection which required that a woman be extracted form her vehicle using the jaws of life, the city
looked at how to bring that number down. “We involve ICBC if and whenever that’s appropriate and we look at all traffic factors,” said Dusdal. Using numbers provided by ICBC, the city determined that of 18 reported collisions there, 13 were t-bone type crashes. Out of those 13, six of them involved a vehicle traveling eastbound on Keith colliding with a car traveling northbound on Kenney St. “It was recommended we look at the visibility of the stop signs and other options,” said Dusdal. The signs were found to be well placed and visible but there are visual distractions in the area that could be contributing to collisions. The remedy applied, then, is to remind drivers to stop by adding rumble strips and signs warning drivers of stop signs ahead. The city will continue to monitor crash numbers there. Kenney St. at Hwy16 and Kalum St. and Hwy16 both top the Kenney St. and Keith Ave. intersection for traffic and crash numbers. “There are already traffic lights,” said Dusdal, adding that’s why the city has focused on improving the third highest location instead of the top two.
STAFF PHOTO
■ At your service EDNA GREEN, left, from Terrace and Jaimee Beaupre from Nelson work for Summit Camps, the firm supplying catering services at the Kitsumkalum Valard construction camp. For more, see Page 11.
Prom in a bag
City boss resigns
SalmonRun wild
Student wears a garbage bag to prom for charity \COMMUNITY A19
The City of Terrace’s top officer leaves his post \NEWS A14
Annual run and BBQ the most successful one yet \SPORTS A27