Great crowds turn out for public meetings about the proposed natural gas project

About 100 people turned out for the public meeting into the proposed natural gas project, held Saturday (Oct. 17) at the Kincardine municipal administrative centre.

This was the final of three public meetings which saw good crowds, said consultant Mark Rodger of Borden Ladner Gervais. The meeting in Chesley drew about 160 people, while the meeting in Ripley saw about 100 in attendance.

The three municipalities: Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss and Arran-Elderslie, have selected EPCOR Utilities Inc. of Edmonton, to build the natural gas line, providing service to these communities. The project, estimated to cost between $100-million and $120-million, would link to Dornoch with lines running to the Bruce Energy Centre, Tiverton, Kincardine and Point Clark, and to Paisley, Chesley, Ripley and Lucknow.

While the actual routing is a work in progress, proponents said the goal is to serve as much of the area as possible, economically.

"We are excited with the progress so far," said Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie. "This project would save our residents, businesses and industries - in the three municipalities - about $30-million per year. And it would attract new business and industry to this area."

In his presentation, Rodger stressed that the success of the Southern Bruce County natural gas project depends on the customers who commit to the new gas utility by signing up for service.

"This is a community project," he said. "This initiative started with one fundamental goal: to provide economic natural gas services to as many Southern Bruce County consumers as possible, at least risk to the municipalities and their taxpayers."

This area is one of the few in Ontario that does not have natural gas, said Rodger. The community has been working since 2011 to move this project forward, and fortunately, the provincial government now has $230-million in funding available which could assist customers to convert their current heating systems to natural gas.

EPCOR was selected to build the natural gas line, based on a number of criteria, said Rodger, mainly it is 100-per-cent municipally-owned by the City of Edmonton, it has $5.7-billion in assets and more than 1.5-million customers, a high credit rating, it has been in business for 122 years with strong experience in regulated utilities (electricity, water and wastewater), and a strong record in health, safety and community engagement.

Rodger said the next steps include further consultation, accessing provincial funding for customers' conversion, obtaining provincial regulatory approvals, and implementation - construction and operation of the new natural gas utility.

The next information sessions would describe more specific routing options for the new gas distribution network, he said, plus conversion costs for the new service. These would be held in early 2016.

Phase 1 construction would begin in 2017-18, followed by Phase 2 in 2019, and Phase 3 in 2020, with the full system in service by 2021.

Karim Kassam, EPCOR's vice-president of business development, said the company proposes to build about 110 kilometres of natural gas transmission pipeline and 145 kilometres of natural gas distribution network in the three municipalities.

He emphasized that no taxpayer dollars will be spent on construction costs, and the plan is to seek government grants to help off-set homeowner conversion costs. For more information about the project, the public is encouraged to check the website at www.epcorsouthernbruce.com

During a question-and-answer period, Kassam said that customers who hook up to the system initially will receive a free gas meter and up to 30 metres of distribution line to their homes. Beyond 30 metres, the cost would be $45 per metre.

Regarding conversion costs, a homeowner asked what the best current heating system would be to install if building a home in the next two years. Kassam recommended propane which is the easiest and cheapest system to convert to natural gas.

As for savings, not only will residents, businesses and industries save money with the conversion to natural gas, but so will the municipality, said Kincardine chief administrative officer Murray Clarke.

He noted a staff report states that Kincardine would save about $150,000 per year which is significant, given that a one-per-cent increase in taxes equates to $90,000.

Other municipalities and Bruce County would also save money, said Eadie.