• What principles should the…

• What principles should the government provide to the OEB to help inform the Board’s ongoing development of natural gas connection policies?

Ontario should strive towards creating a more robust and resilient energy supply that includes multiple forms of energy options for both economic development and residential development in all population centres.

• What role should natural gas play in supporting energy affordability and customer choice in residential and small commercial applications (e.g., space and water heating)?

Development of very high efficiency natural gas equipment and infrastructure should be pursued by Ontario until such time that there is a robust and resilient clean energy supply.

• What role should natural gas play in supporting economic development in Ontario’s industrial and agricultural sectors, including those processes that may be difficult to electrify?

Ontario should ensure that natural gas system capacity exists in order to serve designated employment lands and coordinate this approach with the land use planning process.

• What role should the government play in supporting and expediting the rational expansion of the natural gas system to make home heating more affordable and support economic growth in communities that are seeking natural gas service?

Government should be supporting research and development of technologies that generate higher efficiency and more cost effective natural gas system performance. Through densification of urban areas opportunities for centralized natural gas powered heating systems should be explored.

• For natural gas expansion projects receiving government support, should the approvals processes be streamlined to support affordable home heating for Ontarians? In what ways?

Government should be encouraging the development of more efficient and affordable natural gas appliances. Additionally with the warmer spring-summer-fall seasons Ontario is experiencing, Ontario should be exploring options to power cooling systems with a variety of energy sources to promote resilience and capacity in our energy system.

• What role should natural gas play in supporting power system security and resiliency?

Given the multiple risks presented to the power system it is essential that Ontario has multiple redundancies built into the system to provide electricity, heating and cooling. The government should investigate creating such a system through a combination of natural gas, nuclear, hydro, solar and wind in order to ensure that if part of the system fails that the other options are available to serve the people of Ontario. Given the demand for electricity in neighbouring jurisdictions, the opportunity exists to export surplus supply.

• What role should natural gas play in offsetting higher GHG-emitting fuel sources?

Higher GHG-emitting fuel sources should be avoided where possible in Ontario. Research and development to improve more efficient, effective and cleaner natural gas production and consumption should be supported by Ontario.

• What are the challenges and opportunities for enhanced energy efficiency, adoption of clean fuels (e.g., RNG, Hydrogen) and emission reduction methods (e.g., carbon capture and storage) to lower emissions in the natural gas system?

Carbon capture should be avoided in areas prone to seismicity and encouraged in geologically stable areas. Research and development to create more cost-effective carbon capture at the source should be encouraged.

This submission was authorized by the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town of Amherstburg.