Manitobans will see another increase on their utilities bill next month.

The Public Utilities Board announced on Thursday that it has approved an application from Centra Gas Manitoba Inc. for a rate hike that will work out to an approximately 1.7 per cent increase. The change will take effect on May 1 and will be reviewed again for August 1, 2024.

The gas commodity rate will change from $0.0857/m3 to $0.0918/m3. A release from the PUB says that the increase will average to about $10 a year for most customers.

Centra Gas is a subsidiary of Manitoba Hydro and is the primary distributor of natural gas in the province.

The PUB says that, "Gas Commodity is sold on a cost recovery basis, meaning that Centra charges customers only what Centra pays for Gas Commodity and does not make a profit on its sale."

Forecasts for the North American natural gas market predict that prices will continue to rise over the next 12 months.