Centra Gas Manitoba

Centra Gas Manitoba Inc.
Formerly
  • Winnipeg & Central Gas Company (1953–8)[1]
  • Central Winnipeg Gas Company (1958–90)
  • ICG Utilities (Manitoba) (1990–1)
IndustryEnergy
Founded1953; 72 years ago (1953)
HeadquartersWinnipeg, Manitoba, Canada[2]
Area served
Manitoba, Canada
Key people
Otto Lang, President & CEO (1993– )[3][2]
OwnerManitoba Hydro
Number of employees
661 (1999)[2]
Footnotes / references
[4]

Centra Gas Manitoba Inc., a subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro, is the primary distributor of natural gas in Manitoba,[5] serving the Winnipeg and surrounding area, including rural communities.[6] The company had a gas distribution monopoly in Manitoba until 1991.[7]

Based in Winnipeg, it is regulated by the Public Utilities Board of Manitoba.[8]

History

Centra Gas Manitoba initially received its provincial charter in 1953.[2]

It was privately owned by Vancouver-based Westcoast Energy from 1990 until 1999, when it was purchased by Manitoba Hydro.[5][6][9] In the couple of years preceding the sale, Centra began speculative natural gas trading, leading to a CA$45.5 million loss which Manitoba utility regulators ruled could not be recovered by the company through a rate hike, forcing shareholders to absorb the loss.[10] Moreover, as early as 1996, Centra had been working with Manitoba Hydro to reduce costs by combining forces on activities like power meter reading and billing.[11]

Centra Gas Manitoba was one of four units of Centra Gas Canada (known as ICG Utilities until 1991), the other three being Centra Gas Ontario, Centra Gas Alberta, and Centra Gas British Columbia, which in toto distributed natural gas to 500,000 Canadians and employed about 2000 people as of 1991.[12] Each of the four component companies were regulated utilities, and at least two had un-regulated affiliate firms, such as Centra Energy Services as the affiliate of Centra Gas Manitoba.[13]

As of 1999, Centra had about 240,000 residential and commercial customers.[5] In fiscal 2003, total gas revenues were CA$497 million on 2,123 million cubic metres of gas.

References

  1. ^ Jarrell, Howard R. (1993). Directory of Corporate Name Changes. Scarecrow Press. pp. 341. ISBN 0-8108-2761-1 – via Internet Archive.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ a b c d Musielak, Mark; Kish, Charlene; Lewis, William A., eds. (1999). The Blue Book of Canadian Business. Scarborough, Ontario: Canadian Newspaper Services International Limited. p. III-177. ISBN 0-9681016-3-1 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ Staff (July 21, 1993). "Lang Appointment". The Star Phoenix. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Armadale. Canadian Press. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Musielak, Mark; Kish, Sharon; Lewis, William A., eds. (2002). The Blue Book of Canadian Business 2002–2003. Toronto, Ontario: Canadian Newspaper Services International Limited. p. II-184. ISBN 0-9681016-6-6 – via Internet Archive.
  5. ^ a b c Nutt, Rob (March 12, 1999). "Centra Gas sale nets $58 million for Westcoast". The Vancouver Sun. Vol. 114, no. 257. p. H6. Retrieved 29 Nov 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b The Canada Student Employment Guide (8th ed.). Toronto, Ontario: Student Employment Network. 2002. pp. 134–5. ISBN 1-896324-40-1 – via Internet Archive.
  7. ^ "Five-year gas contracts may save $50 per year". The StarPhoenix. Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Armadale. Canadian Press. November 27, 1991. p. C6 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Province of Manitoba | v1 - Natural Gas and Propane Utilities". www.pubmanitoba.ca. Retrieved 2021-08-11.
  9. ^ "Manitoba Hydro to buy gas utility". CBC. March 11, 1999. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  10. ^ Cattaneo, Claudia (June 22, 1998). "Centra rate hike request turned down". The Financial Post (Weekend ed.). Toronto, Ontario. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Staff (May 29, 1996). "Westcoast expands electricity business". Calgary Herald. Calgary, Alberta. p. C2 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Staff (January 23, 1991). "ICG now Centra". The Province. Vancouver, British Columbia. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ Westell, Dan (April 12, 1997). "Gas ruling seen as competition boost". The Financial Post. Toronto, Ontario. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.