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Wednesday, October 21, 2015 • Lucknow Sentinel 7
EPCOR answers questions at public information session in Ripley
CONTINUED FROM > PAGE 6
When asked how the
smaller feeders will be
routed from the main feeder
pipeline, Laycock replied,
"That will be determined by
finding out where the area of
hunger is for use." Demand
will be from a mix of indus-
trial, agricultural and resi-
dential clients. Whichever
pockets are going to have the
highest demand will influ-
ence the route taken for the
main pipeline, as well as the
distribution web that is con-
structed around the main
feeder line.
Leading off the presenta-
tion, Mayor Twolan
advised, "We do not have
all the anwers yet. It is a
process." He went on to
thank the Council and staff
of the Township of Huron -
Kinloss for allowing him
the latitude to do what
needed to be done to work
as Mayor to get to the point
of having the information
meetings.
The next speaker was
Mr. Mark Rodger, a senior
partner at the law firm
Borden Ladner
Gervais,and a specialist in
the energy and utility sec-
tors who has been
retained by the three
municipalities to repre-
sent them and to assist in
working through the pro-
cess of bringing natural
gas to the area. The three
municipalities joined
together in an agreement
to work as a single team to
give more viability to the
Business Plan that was cir-
culated to utilities
throughout Canada and
the United States to find a
suitable and economically
feasible solution to getting
the necessary infrastruc-
ture in place. EPCOR,
which is fully owned by
the City of Edmonton, was
chosen as the company to
build the infrastructure.
Kassam spoke on behalf
of EPCOR and gave a
power point presentation
on various points to bring
the public up to date. Dur-
ing the presentation, a
timeline was shown which
proposed that all areas
within the service area
would be serviced by 2021,
although if there is enough
demand from the public,
extra crews could be
brought in to move that
date up to 2019. To facili-
tate communication and
processes with the public,
there will be offices set up
in the serviced municipali-
ties for the first three to
five years. This will facili-
tate conversions and cal-
culations of rates.
A question and answer
session followed the
presentation.
Mayor Twolan advised
that no one will be forced
to connect to the natural
gas service. He stated,
"Municipalities do not
have the ability to force
hookup as it is not like
water or sewers." However,
it is recommended that
there is a savings to hook
up while the lines are
going by.
Twolan went on to advise
that the municipalities are
actively seeking grants to
help with conversion with
the goal of having as little
cost as possible being
shouldered by the taxpay-
ers. The group of munici-
palities has already put in a
lot of work to bring in the
natural gas, which is being
recognized by the province
who are using the Business
Plan as a template to work
with other communities.
This could possibly help
this area to be one of the
first areas in the queue for
provincial grants. However
there is no guarantee for
the grants as there are 200
other communities com-
peting for the same grant
money.
One of the reasons that
EPCOR was chosen as the
builder is that they are
willing to fund the con-
struction upfront and
recoup the loan over the
next 20 years through a
very small rate fee to users
that will be added to their
monthly bill. For this rea-
son, the total rate fees will
be higher than for other
communities who do not
have this added loan
repayment rate.
When asked what is
included in the service
from EPCOR and what is
the responsibility of users
to provide, Kassam
assured the audience that
it would be the same as for
other utilities. EPCOR will
provide up to 30 meters of
pipe to take the gas from
the feeder pipeline to the
home to install the meter.
The homeowner would be
responsible to have a
plumber come in to take
the gas from the meter in
to the home and to con-
vert the heating and, if
The proposed route for the natural gas main feeder line has been changed from the first proposal due to ongoing research since the
initial route was released. The alternative route is currently the one under consideration, but is subject to change as the research
continues and public feedback is taken into account along with environmental impacts and efficiency.
wanted, the hot water
from the current system to
natural gas.
It was advised that those
who already have forced -
air heating will not need to
do as much to convert to
natural gas heat. The most
costly conversion would be
for those who heat with
electric baseboard heaters
as there is no ductwork in
place.
Mayor Twolan advised
that it will take some time
and study to work out a sub-
sidy rate for the various users
as different users have differ-
ent needs and costs in order
to convert.
When asked about natu-
ral gas appliances, Kassam
stated, "EPCOR does not
want to become retail
appliance providers, we
just want to deliver the nat-
ural gas." He added that
Union Gas will provide the
actual fuel.
Asked if other neigh-
bouring communities can
come in on the agreement
forged by the Townships of
Huron -Kinloss, Kincardine
and Arran Elderslie, Mayor
Twolan adamantly
answered, "We have had
inquiries from South
Bruce, ACW and others in
Grey County. We are going
to look after our three
municipalities first as we
have put in the work." He
further advised that the
municipalities are not
depending on Bruce Power
to hook up to the system.
They are a private com-
pany and will make their
own decision. The Town-
ships intend to go ahead
whether or not Bruce
Power comes on board.
Kassam assured the audi-
ence that this information
meeting is just part of the
ongoing process to bring
natural gas to the area. The
public will be kept
informed all through the
process, with more public
meetings to be held in the
future, as well as ongoing
research into what the area
wants in the various sectors
of residential, industrial
and commercial uses and
demands.
For more information you
can visit the Township of
Huron -Kinloss website or
the website for EPCOR at
www.epcorsouthernbruce.
com.
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