Gas-rate deal sought

energy • New Brunswick’s energy minister says he’s hopeful a deal can be worked out with Enbridge Gas New Brunswick on natural gas rates.

Craig Leonard’s comments follow a New Brunswick Court of Appeal decision that struck down regulations that limited what the company could charge its industrial and commercial customers.

The court ruled the government went beyond its authority set out under the Gas Distribution Act when it set a cap to rates charged by Enbridge Gas New Brunswick, which is owned by Enbridge Inc.

The company had argued the cap would have resulted in a loss of at least $6 million a year and a reduction of up to half of its employees.