Some Langley greenhouse owners are getting hammered by sharp increases in natural gas prices caused by the pipeline explosion near Prince George.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 brutal,B次元官网网址� 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, B次元官网网址渋nterruptibleB次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淲e had to move a lot of our plants to a different facility, that has fixed [natural gas] rates,B次元官网网址� Jansen said.
Local natural gas, B次元官网网址渄ownstreamB次元官网网址� 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.
B次元官网网址淭hat has constrained supply significantly,B次元官网网址� he said.
The huge price spike on Nov. 16 was caused by maintenance on the pipeline.
ItB次元官网网址檚 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.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e amazed at how fragile the whole system is,B次元官网网址� said Jansen.
Even greenhouses that donB次元官网网址檛 rely on natural gas for heating are feeling the impacts second-hand.
B次元官网网址淭he month of November has been mild enough that our biomass boilers have been enough,B次元官网网址� 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 B次元官网网址� some clients are looking into when theyB次元官网网址檒l order their plants in the new year.
B次元官网网址淪o far, weB次元官网网址檙e making it work,B次元官网网址� said Benne.
Meanwhile, Darvonda is still growing tomatoes and planning for next year. ItB次元官网网址檚 tempting to switch to buying gas at locked-in prices, but buyers canB次元官网网址檛 switch immediately, Jansen said.
For now, theyB次元官网网址檙e using as little natural gas as possible.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e probably using less than half what we would normally use,B次元官网网址� he said.
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