Some Langley greenhouse owners are getting hammered by sharp increases in natural gas prices caused by the pipeline explosion near Prince George.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 brutal,sa国际传媒� said Lawrence Jansen, CEO of Darvonda Nurseries.
In early October, Darvonda was paying about $3.50 per gigajoule of natural gas.
But after the Oct. 9 pipeline blast, the supply to the Lower Mainland was reduced. While Fortis encouraged homeowners to take shorter showers and to turn down their thermostats, some greenhouses saw energy prices skyrocket.
Within a day, the price at the Northwest Sumas gas hub had shot up to more than $10 per gigajoule. In late November, it was above $25 on several days, and on Nov. 16 it was $86.70.
Darvonda bought gas at lower, sa国际传媒渋nterruptiblesa国际传媒� rates, which means they were vulnerable to sudden shifts in price.
That has meant some major changes for Darvonda and some other local nurseries.
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At Darvonda, a four-acre greenhouse full of cucumber plants should have been harvested for a week and a half more. But the gas price made it too unprofitable, and Jansen said they shut it down, losing about 50,000 cucumbers.
sa国际传媒淲e had to move a lot of our plants to a different facility, that has fixed [natural gas] rates,sa国际传媒� Jansen said.
Local natural gas, sa国际传媒渄ownstreamsa国际传媒� of the pipeline rupture, has had to come through a 30 inch, older pipeline instead of a 36 inch pipeline, said David Grewal of Absolute Energy.
sa国际传媒淭hat has constrained supply significantly,sa国际传媒� he said.
The huge price spike on Nov. 16 was caused by maintenance on the pipeline.
Itsa国际传媒檚 simply a bottleneck in supply, said Grewal.
Darvonda has also reduced heat in the greenhouse where its poinsettia plants are waiting to be shipped out to stores, and at its annual GLOW seasonal light show.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e amazed at how fragile the whole system is,sa国际传媒� said Jansen.
Even greenhouses that donsa国际传媒檛 rely on natural gas for heating are feeling the impacts second-hand.
sa国际传媒淭he month of November has been mild enough that our biomass boilers have been enough,sa国际传媒� said Leo Benne of Bevo Farms.
Bevo supplies new seedling plants for many other greenhouses, and Benne said their clients are seeing shortened growing periods, or considering starting crops later.
That could affect Bevo sa国际传媒� some clients are looking into when theysa国际传媒檒l order their plants in the new year.
sa国际传媒淪o far, wesa国际传媒檙e making it work,sa国际传媒� said Benne.
Meanwhile, Darvonda is still growing tomatoes and planning for next year. Itsa国际传媒檚 tempting to switch to buying gas at locked-in prices, but buyers cansa国际传媒檛 switch immediately, Jansen said.
For now, theysa国际传媒檙e using as little natural gas as possible.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e probably using less than half what we would normally use,sa国际传媒� he said.
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