Consultation Feedback…

Consultation Feedback

Principles for the Ontario Energy Board (OEB):

The government should provide principles that prioritize reliability, affordability, sustainability, and equitable access when guiding the OEB in developing natural gas connection policies. Specifically:
• Reflect the true long-term costs of natural gas infrastructure investments, including potential decarbonization costs and stranded asset risks. Transparent pricing and market signals will allow for informed decision-making by consumers and businesses while ensuring financial sustainability.
• Adopt a technology-neutral approach, avoiding long-term dependency on natural gas infrastructure where lower-carbon alternatives such as heat pumps, hybrid heating systems, and district energy solutions are viable. This ensures flexibility and competitiveness in Ontario’s energy system.
• Align connection policies with decarbonization goals by incentivizing investments in low-carbon solutions, including RNG, hydrogen, and carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS).
Role in Residential and Small Commercial Applications:

Natural gas provides a cost-effective and reliable energy solution for residential and small commercial applications, including:
• Enabling hybrid heating systems that integrate high-efficiency natural gas with renewable energy sources, lowering emissions and energy costs.
• Offering resilience during grid instability and complementing renewable energy systems to maintain affordability.
• Supporting the integration of RNG and hydrogen to transition to lower-carbon solutions while maintaining customer choice and affordability.
Role in Industrial and Agricultural Sectors:

For industrial and agricultural sectors, natural gas supports economic competitiveness by:
• Facilitating high-temperature industrial processes that are challenging or uneconomical to electrify, such as in steel, cement, and chemical production.
• Supporting agricultural operations like grain drying and greenhouse heating with consistent and cost-effective energy.
• Promoting process optimization and hybrid energy solutions, enhancing efficiency while reducing environmental impact.
• Encouraging the development of low-carbon alternatives, including RNG, low-carbon hydrogen, and CCUS, to support sustainable industrial growth.
Streamlined Approvals for Expansion Projects:

Streamlined approval processes are essential for ensuring the timely and cost-effective delivery of natural gas projects. Recommended actions include:
• Implementing a coordinated “one-window” approach that consolidates approvals across ministries and agencies to reduce delays.
• Requiring new expansion projects to assess and integrate low-emission heating options, including hydrogen-ready infrastructure, to future-proof investments.
• Enhancing transparency and community engagement to maintain public trust and alignment with strategic objectives.
Role in Power System Security and Resiliency:

Natural gas strengthens Ontario’s power system by:
• Acting as a flexible and reliable complement to variable renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar.
• Providing peaking capacity during high-demand periods and serving as a rapid-response backup during grid disruptions.
• Supporting advancements in combined heat and power (CHP) systems, enhancing energy security by generating electricity and heat on-site.
• Facilitating the integration of RNG and hydrogen into the grid, reducing emissions while maintaining reliability.
Role in Offsetting Higher GHG-Emitting Fuels:

Natural gas serves as a cleaner alternative to higher-emission fuels in several contexts:
• Displacing coal and oil in power generation, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions and improving air quality.
• Supporting the transportation sector through the adoption of CNG and LNG in heavy-duty vehicles, lowering emissions and fuel costs.
• Accelerating the adoption of RNG and hydrogen to further reduce lifecycle emissions and positioning Ontario as a leader in the clean energy transition.