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February 11, 2011 Peachland, BC
Volume 07 | Number 06
A winter blast doesn’t deter 5 K Walk or Run participants
Thirty-two people braved the snow on Sunday, February 6, for the 6th Annual February Freeze-Up 5 K Walk or Run held along Peachland’s waterfront. Justin Burkes sprinted into first place in the Men’s division with a time of 17:41. Burkes time beat that of Wade Carlson, who came in less than a minute later with a time of 18:34. Andrew Dingwall took third place with a time of 22:49. Riki-Lynn Boettcher won top spot in the Women’s 5 K run with a time of 22:27. Kirby Hodson had the second best time of 24:10, and Barbara Mandau had the third best time of 27:23. Originally designed as part of the provincial initiative to get people to be more active for the 2010 Olympics, this event has increased in participation each year, including 2011 which was the snowiest event on record. For the full list of participants and race finish times you can contact the Peachland Recreation Department at 250.767.2133. Photo Constance Roth
Kelowna-Westside
An independent member broker
Turning the tables on natural gas “scams” By Cindy Fortin She was convincing. Within 20 minutes of knocking on the door, and beginning her wellrehearsed, pressure-laden spiel about the skyrocketing natural gas prices and unaffordable heating costs, the persuasive marketer left with a signed contract – for five years! David and Janice Brent (who asked us not to use their real names) were two of several Peachland residents who fell victim to a convincing natural gas free marketer who arrived on their doorstep and locked them into an expensive gas contract. According to David, scare tactics and an implied association with Terasen Gas, was a big part of what convinced his wife to accept the deal while he was away that afternoon. “In 2008 a woman very convincingly put the fear into my wife that prices were going to skyrocket and they could give us a fi xed price. No matter if prices doubled or tripled, they would keep it at that level,” said David. Terasen Gas prices were on the rise at the time, which gave them some ammo to use in their sales pitch. But the sky-high gas prices never materialized. Not from Terasen, anyway. And twoand-a-half years later, the frustrated couple continued to pay a month bill that was $30 to $50 above what Terasen would have charged. According to their December statement, which lists both Terasen’s costs and that of the marketing
company, Terasen’s current (variable) commodity cost was $1.704 per GJ (Gigajoule), plus $3.145 per GJ for delivery, for a cost total of $4.849 per GJ. The marketing company has consistently billed the Brents each month for $9.980 per GJ. Several of their neighbours also fell for what David angrily refers to as a “scam”. So how was the door opened to these marketers? According to the Terasen Gas website: “In 2002, the B.C. provincial government laid the groundwork for increased consumer choice in its 2002 Energy Policy, with a statement about its desire to provide more choice for the small volume of natural gas consumers. Around the same time, research conducted by Terasen Gas revealed that customers wanted to help manage their gas costs with options that included longterm, fi xed-rate contracts.” In 2004, a portion of BC’s natural gas market was opened up to competition, allowing many commercial customers to purchase gas from companies other than Terasen Gas. Then in 2006, the BC Utilities Commission took the final step in introducing greater Customer Choice, as the program is called, by allowing residential customers to purchase natural gas from companies other than Terasen. Gas marketers were then allowed to offer fi xed price contracts for a minimum duration of one year, and in one-year increments, up to a maximum of five years. continued page 3 see Natural Gas
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