The following letter was sent to Fortis BC and copied to Coast Reporter.
Thank you for the offer enclosed with my bill that allows me to fund the expansion of Fortis BC’s ability to deliver renewable natural gas on the Sunshine Coast. I fully support the expansion of renewable natural gas in B.C.
I believe that this campaign to ask customers to pay a premium for renewable natural gas is an effort to refocus the concerns of those who may be anxious about Fortis’ connections with the environmental hazards of shale gas fracking, gas line construction and off-shore shipping of LNG. As a customer who installed natural gas heating before much was known regarding the recent destructive methods of natural gas extraction, I share these concerns.
Given the amount of support that the current B.C. government has given to the natural gas sector, I really wonder why Fortis asks for the extra cash from concerned users of natural gas. Reading the 2014 report from your parent corporation, Fortis Inc., describing a revenue of $5.4 billion leads me to wonder if an investment in Fortis stocks might yield me enough annual profit to cover the extra cost I would pay as a subsidy to theoretically receive 100 per cent natural gas for my home for a year, despite receiving the same gas as everyone else on the Sunshine Coast.
Since I am opposed to the extraction and export of natural gas from shale gas sources, I will make an offer regarding the cost of my gas service. For each million dollars that FortisBC can prove they invest in biogas in southern B.C., I will pay five per cent premium on my annual gas usage.
Sheila Page, Sechelt
