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Jos Moerman is president of the Sunnyside Produce in Surrey, BC. Moerman is concerned that a gas supply, caused by a recent pipeline explosion, could adversely affect the production of vegetables in greenhouses that rely on natural gas to heat them.
Jason Payne / PNG
Fortis B.C. will be challenged to manage the supply of natural gas, but as long as they can, they have been doing Oct. 9 rupture of the Enbridge pipeline north of Prince George, the company says.
The firm estimates that this would be 80 percent of what they would normally be. But there should not be an immediate rate spike, said Sean Beardow, manager of corporate communications for Fortis.
"We would not see the impact on the current situation until next year," he said. "Our goal is to make sure our customers are natural where we are at now. If we hit a situation where demand is higher and we are worried about supply, there are things we can do. "
Greenhouse operators, however, are concerned.
"There's a good chance it can affect next year's production," said Linda Delli Santi, executive director of the B.C. Greenhouse Growers Association.
Jos Moerman (in blue) is the president of the Sunnyside Produce in Surrey, BC. Moerman is concerned that a gas supply, caused by a recent pipeline explosion, could adversely affect the production of vegetables in greenhouses that rely on natural gas to heat them.
Jason Payne /
PNG
These are the reasons why they are so expensive and so expensive. But there is concern that the pipeline is repaired, it will not run at full capacity for awhile, she added.
"I actually had a call from one of my members today who said this is going to be the case, he may not plant this year," she said. "He said, 'My seeds are very expensive and my costs are still there, and if natural gas is not available, that window of getting a decent return is closed.'"
Delli Santi said, "I'm sorry. But it also means they can be used for a few days when they need it.
Greenhouses have boilers that can be burned, but typically diesel, Delli Santi said.
"The unfortunate thing is that we are exporting our products to the US and they are not being affected by this, we are coming to the table with a higher cost of production than the competitors."
Jos Moerman, co-owner of Sunnyside Produce, said gas services to their Surrey and Delta greenhouses were interrupted after the explosion pipeline, so they were forced to switch to their wood-burning and diesel backups.
Sunnyside has made a profit and has a lower price. They sell a lot of money in the United States and Canada, who will turn to Ontario, Mexico City or elsewhere if they try to raise prices, Moerman said.
Sunnyside has made a profit and has a lower price. They sell a lot of money in the United States and Canada, who will turn to Ontario, Mexico City or elsewhere if they try to raise prices, Moerman said. In order to remain competitive, he said.
"We are a supply and demand business," he said. "We do not get any subsidies and we compete on the open market."
A rupture pipeline sparked a mbadive fire north of Prince George.
Dhruv Desai /
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Moerman said Sunnyside will likely spend about $ 300,000 for this year's greenhouses, up from about $ 120,000 last year. They will still remove their old crop in March. But the financial impacts of the explosion are expected to be severe.
"The impact of it is very negative for us," he said.
One silver lining is that meteorologists expect above-average temperatures in the coming months.
Matt MacDonald, a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada, said this is for two reasons: Sea-surface temperature anomalies off BC's coast – colloquially known as "The Blob" – and the development of an El Nino in the equatorial Pacific , which is one of the most important things in the province in early January.
MacDonald said that the British Columbians can expect to be better than in the southern half of the country.
Fortis can tap its Tilbury Liquefied Natural Gas facility in Delta, which actually sends small shipments of LNG to Asia; Vancouver Island at the Mount Hayes Ladysmith; and it can buy on the spot market.
"And there are a lot of things we can do to encourage conservation," Beardow said. "At the end of the day we're just asking that people be aware of their natural gas usage: Turn your thermostat down to a degree or two, put on a sweater, just those small things help a great deal."
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