Enbridge Gas has applied to the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board to increase the customer charge and distribution rate for its residential customers next year.

But the utility predicts residential customers would still see a seven per cent decrease in their total bill because of anticipated lower natural gas supply costs.

A typical residential customer, for example, who uses 77 gigajoules per year for heat and hot water would see their annual cost decrease by about $142, compared to 2019, Enbridge said in a statement on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Enbridge is seeking to lower the distribution rates for all commercial customers, which would mean decreases of between 12 per cent and 16 per cent in their total cost for natural gas in 2020, depending on their rate class.

If approved, the changes would take effect on Jan. 1.

The forecast commodity cost for 2020 is $9.44 a gigajoule, "well below" prices this year, it said.

The proposed increases to residential distribution rates and charges "bring the price closer to what it costs the utility to deliver natural gas to residential customers," according to the release.

Enbridge has applied to increase the customer charge to $20 per month, up from $18 and the distribution delivery rate to $10.49 per gigajoule (GJ), up from $10.02.

With the forecast decrease in supply cost, however, a typical customer's total annual bill would drop to an estimated $1,786.69, down from $1,929.01, a decrease of 7.4 per cent, according to the utility.

Customers that use about 366 GJs per year, such as apartment buildings, restaurants, churches and small schools, could see their distribution rate for the first 100 GJs drop to $11.38 from $11.88 and drop again in excess of that to $7.69 from $8.08. Their total annual bill could drop by 12.2 per cent.

Industrial customers could save 16%

The proposed distribution rate for large general service customers who use about 3,996 GJs per year, such as big box stores and large schools, would be between $8.90 and $2.50, depending on the consumption and time of year. The current rates are between $8.55 and $2.50. If approved, that would mean their total annual cost would decrease by 13.6 per cent.

Under Enbridge's application, the distribution rates for contract general service customers who use about 9,767 GJs per year, such as manufacturing and processing facilities, would decrease only for part of the year, from May 1 to Aug. 31, to $5.72 per GJ from $6.02. That's about a 15 per cent drop.

Industrial contract general service customers who use about 172,880 GJs per year, such as large industrial companies, would also see their distribution rates reduced during that period, to $1.62 per GJ from $1.73, representing a total annual decrease on their bill of about 16 per cent.

Enbridge Gas New Brunswick is seeking approval from the Energy and Utilities Board for changes in rates and charges to take effect Jan. 1. (CBC)

Last month, Enbridge Gas New Brunswick's general manager Gilles Volpé said a contract for gas from an Ontario distribution hub that starts next year should mean lower costs as soon as 2020.

Enbridge has also secured discounted Alberta gas, starting in 2021.

Access to TC Energy pipeline

In June, federal regulators approved a plan to sell more of Western Canada's discounted gas to Atlantic Canada.

The National Energy Board approved TC Energy's agreements with natural gas retailers in Eastern Canada, including Enbridge Gas New Brunswick and Irving Oil.

TC Energy, formerly known as TransCanada Corp., will be shipping the Alberta gas east on its Canadian mainline, using capacity it had hoped to devote to its now-abandoned Energy East oil pipeline.

Volpé has said the 20.5-year contract should mean "significant savings, in the order of 20 to 40 per cent cheaper, on the [product cost] for customers starting in 2021."

The Alberta gas will travel on TC's Canadian mainline as far as Quebec, then cross the border into New England on other lines before crossing back into New Brunswick.