Utilities Kingston provides safe and reliable gas services to 14,000 customers in central Kingston. Most benefit from the convenience of one combined bill for all their utility services, which may also include water, wastewater, and electricity. A combined bill helps lower costs for all rate payers.
This page assists our customers in understanding their bill and keeps them up-to-date on gas rates.
Understanding your bill
Natural gas customers in Utilities Kingston’s natural gas distribution territory receive their natural gas bill from Utilities Kingston.
There are three types of charges on your gas bill:
- Natural gas commodity: The commodity charge is for the fuel burned by your natural gas appliances. This charge will vary depending on the amount of natural gas you use. For this charge, there is a choice. On your Utilities Kingston bill, the commodity rate you will be billed at depends upon the commodity purchase choice you have made. You may:
- buy your natural gas under contract with an energy retailer, the price you pay for the natural gas that you use is set out in the energy contract (your direct purchase rate); or
- receive the Utilities Kingston system gas commodity rate. If you have not signed a contract then automatically you are billed at the system gas commodity rate. This rate is a pass through rate that reflects a forecast of the prices we expect to pay for gas commodity on the open market, plus adjustments for past periods. Actual market costs can differ from our forecasts and adjustments are made to either refund or collect the difference, so that you only pay the actual costs for natural gas with no mark-up.
- Transportation and storage: The cost to transport natural gas from Western Canada and the United States to Ontario and the cost to store natural gas. This charge will vary depending on the amount of natural gas you use. This charge is based on a forecast of the prices we expect to pay to buy these items from the market, plus adjustments for past periods. Actual market costs can differ from our forecasts and adjustments are made to either refund or collect the difference, so that you only pay the actual costs for these services with no mark-up.
- Local distribution costs: The cost to deliver natural gas to customers locally from the city boundary through our local distribution system to your home’s gas appliances.
Local distribution costs appears on your bill as two separate line items:
- Monthly service charge – This is a fixed charge to administer your natural gas account. It includes meter reading, customer services, equipment maintenance. You have to pay this charge even if you don’t use any natural gas during the billing period, and
- Delivery charge – this charge will vary depending on the amount of natural gas you use.
Energy retailers
If you are considering signing a contract with an energy retailer, first visit the Ontario Energy Board website for further information about energy retailers and contracts.
Current rate schedules
Utilities Kingston reviews its natural gas commodity, and transportation & storage rates on a quarterly basis, for possible adjustments February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1 of each calendar year. We adjust these rates quarterly to make up the difference between our forecast costs for the next 12 months for natural gas commodity, and transportation & storage and actual costs from prior periods.
Residential and commercial rates:
- System gas customers, who are the majority of our natural gas customers
- Direct purchase customers, who purchase their gas through a retailer
For more information about gas rates, or any other questions about your services, please contact customer service at 613-546-1181, Monday to Friday, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.