Seeking a fair framework

Re: Ford is setting Ontario’s energy future on the wrong course (April 11)

Misleading and inaccurate information can have damaging ramifications. Recent regulatory decisions and the sharing of disinformation threaten to undermine the fundamental principles of energy choice and affordability for Ontarians.

The Ontario Energy Board recently decided, without providing notice to impacted Ontarians, that new gas customers should pay for the cost of connecting to the gas system upfront. This is a change from the current policy, where costs are borne by new customers and paid for through rates over a 40-year time frame.

The Government of Ontario tabled Bill 165 which, if passed, would temporarily revert to the status quo customer connection policy.

While no other public utility in Ontario requires customers to pay upfront connection costs, the OEB decision would increase the cost of building a new home or opening a small business at a time when the province faces a housing and affordability crisis.

We believe in the importance of a fair regulatory framework for Ontario. Bill 165 requires the OEB to reconsider its dramatic departure from the historical customer connection policy with the benefit of input from impacted Ontarians and the government’s energy transition policy.

The OEB decision also impacts customer choice, as it constrains our ability to invest in energy projects that could help address Ontario’s housing affordability crisis and support economic development, competitiveness, and emissions reductions.

We encourage all Ontarians to become familiar with the facts.

For more information, please visit enbridgegas.com/natural-gas-matters.

Malini Giridhar, vice-president, business development and regulatory for Enbridge Gas

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