By William Lin
Every morning Ali Mackie arrives at his quaint Greek restaurant on Bank Street to work and doesn’t leave until late at night.
Mackie is even in the back room making souvlakis on holidays. He’s been at this routine for two and a half years, trying to make a buck.
But his natural gas bills are so high, he’s barely breaking even.
Mackie, 29, co-owner of Dolmades Greek Taverna on 406 Bank St., is one of the many business owners who have been hit by gas prices that have tripled in the past five years since the provincial government deregulated the industry.
This winter won’t bring any mercy. Analysts predict colder-than-usual weather will cause gas prices to triple again, and although Mackie says he’s on a fixed-rate plan, which gives him some safety, he’s still concerned.
A recent CIBC World Markets Inc. report predicts that cold weather, falling North American production, depleting reserves and global political uncertainties could cause natural gas bills to skyrocket this winter.
Peter Buchanan, co-author of the report, says a dramatic increase could hurt local businesses like Mackie’s.
“Energy costs are significant for production,” says Buchanan.
“It’s not only going to hurt manufacturing, but housing distributors, retailers, malls … a broad range of different areas of the economy.”
Since he opened the restaurant, Mackie,who uses gas for 90 per cent of his cooking, has had to change his menu prices three times to accommodate for increased energy expenses.
“The gas is on as soon as I open the door, and stays on right through the night until I close,” Mackie says.
“My expenses are going to be higher than it’s supposed to be. And it’s going to cause me to increase my prices. And I’m pretty sure if I do increase my prices, a lot of people might not be very happy about it.”
Although Mackie says he’s not as affected as natural gas consumers without a fixed-rate plan, he is concerned with higher prices in the long run.
He says his natural gas bills have reached up to $1,000 per month, and says they account for “over 50 per cent” of his low profits.
Down the street, Taleb Khatib, owner of the Lebanese-food diner Shawarma City, says he cringes at the threat of gas prices tripling this winter and is frustrated he can’t do anything about it.
“The price increased too much. Sometimes business is not very busy, but we can’t shut off the gas,” says Khatib. “There’s a lot of competition on the streets, so we can’t change the price for the sandwiches and food.”
Khatib says the uncertainty of gas prices is a worry for local businesses that shows no signs of going away.
“We never know. This is (an issue) for the government. For us, we can do nothing.”