A $250-million expansion to Dawn-Euphemia’s Union Gas storage facility has been given the green light to proceed.

The Ontario Energy Board recently approved the project that will see the construction of a new compressor on site to increase the flow of natural gas along the Dawn-Parkway pipeline network.

That system serves as a main transmission line in Ontario running between Sarnia and Mississauga.

Union Gas is fueling the project – expected to come online in 2017 – to meet both increased demand for the affordable energy source and increased demand for it to come specifically from the Dawn-Euphemia site, said Andrea Stass, manager of media relations for the Chatham-based natural gas storage and distribution company.

Dawn-Euphemia has become “very attractive place to buy gas” in Ontario because its close proximity to new supplies of natural gas in places like Ohio means a reduced cost for consumers, she noted.

“As we’ve seen the shift between gas coming from Alberta to gas coming from areas closer to Ontario, there’s more interest in moving that gas along the Dawn-Parkway system,” Stass said.

But the region’s farmers, who are in some cases without natural gas service at their properties, won’t see any changes through the expansion.

“This particular expansion of the Dawn compressor won’t bring additional gas service to local farmers, but we are planning some other projects that will be making more gas service available,” Stass said.

Some of those projects include an expanded pipeline to serve 520 acres of greenhouses in the Leamington area and another expansion to better serve Chatham-Kent, Windsor-Essex and other communities along the “panhandle” pipeline system.

“We’re planning on conducting some initial open houses and consultations with the public later this month,” Stass said of the proposed “panhandle” project.

On Wednesday, directors of the Lambton Federation of Agriculture highlighted the need for greater natural gas service during a presentation to Lambton County council.

An Ontario Federation of Agriculture study found 500,000 Ontario rural residents could cut their energy bills by $1,000 a year if natural gas was an option, noted Sarah Jackson, first vice-president of the federation.

“With farmers saving that money, they’d be able to reinvest into rural economies like hiring more people,” she said.

But, Stass said, expansion of natural gas into rural areas requires enough of a demand to build the necessary pipelines and consumers willing to pay the cost for the additional infrastructure out to their properties.

Warwick Township Mayor Todd Case said he has heard from some farmers that have received estimates ranging from $350,000 to $650,000 to connect their properties to natural gas.

“Try taking that to your local bank manager and try selling that as part of your business plan,” he said.

But, Case added, his municipality has been working with Union Gas to address the situation.

“We’ve asked them to come up with a plan where there can be some cost sharing,” he said. “I know it’s on the province’s radar screen, and there’s been some money allocated through past budgets to try bringing these gas lines out to rural areas.”

Lambton farmer Al Langford suggested that getting neighbours on board may be the solution to supporting natural gas expansion in rural areas.

He partnered with his neighbours to bring the service out to one of his farms.

“When we first asked about the cost, it was outrageous,” said Langford, the second vice-president of the Lambton Federation of Agriculture.

“We really took a step back to see if it was going to be beneficial or not, but then when they saw us have a corn dryer brought in, we got the neighbours up the road to put on a piece of paper what appliances they were going to add to it, all of a sudden that cost dropped way down and it became manageable.”

~Barbara Simpson~
The Sarnia Observer

LFA Pushing for Greater Natural Gas Service to Rural Properties
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