This is fundamentally flawed…

This is fundamentally flawed. Without exaggeration it appears to have been written by the corporation that has a monopoly on gas distribution in Ontario. Consequently it is grossly unfair and offers NO opportunity to minimize the control of this monopoly. The OEB attempted a slight control of this monopoly in December 2023 as described here, but that was overturned by the reigning provincial government - effectively castrating a formerly independent oversight body. This is not to exonerate the OEB since it actively forces Ontario residents to pay a minimum 9% profit at a time when residents are confronted with a widely-acknowledged cost-of-living crisis. To pile a 9% government-guaranteed profit on the shoulders of three-quarters of Ontario residents is criminal!

The policy refuses to even acknowledge the catastrophic climate emergency confirmed by over 99% of scientists and recognized by ALL countries of the world in the annual UN conferences of the parties. Ontario apparently exists in some other universe, not part of planet earth, and irresponsible to act on this global crisis. SHAME! A government that endorses and promotes INCREASED greenhouse gas emissions is not just irresponsible. It's members should be (and will be) charged with criminal negligence or worse.

The policy is also fiscally irresponsible. It doesn't even mention that virtually all the 'natural' gas consumed in Ontario is imported - at a huge cost to the province and its residents - and that at least 70% of it is also obtained by hydraulic fracking - a particularly dirty and emissions-intensive extraction process. Ontario should be doing everything it can to generate its own energy - and it can do this by rapidly increasing solar and wind generation of electricity within its own borders. It can supplement this with electrical energy from adjacent provinces rather than pouring Canadian dollars into the pockets of US extractors.

The proposal also cherry-picks so-called facts about future demand for electrical energy. The reference to the IESO 2021 study fails to even mention that it was widely discredited. It also doesn't mention the public shift already underway (and recognized by the OEB) to much cleaner and cheaper heat pump technology. It also makes no reference to the well-known opportunities for conservation of energy and the role they can play in current and future energy consumption.

The climate crisis - confirmed as an "EMERGENCY" even by the Canadian federal government and most of the large municipal governments in Ontario - is fundamentally caused by over-consumption of energy. Some countries including most of western Europe have taken steps to reduce their energy consumption or at least the burning of fossil fuels and the resulting emissions. This isn't a mystery or some unknown pathway. It is being INTENTIONALLY ignored by the current Ontario government to its eternal shame.

The proposal suggests that so-called "renewable" natural gas is a significant alternative. Even Enbridge has acknowledged that the maximum role it can play is less than FOUR percent of current use. Its current main source is escaping methane from landfills which inappropriately contain organic materials - against the stated policy of the Ontario government. More importantly, the burning of the resulting gas generates the same amounts of greenhouse gases. The atmosphere doesn't give a damn what you call it; the resulting climate pollution is exactly the same.

And the proposal falsely suggests that the current pipe infrastructure used for gas transmission can be utilized for future transmission of hydrogen - something well understood to be extremely dangerous. Why doesn't your proposal even acknowledge this?

The proposal falsely states that the government decision to overturn the OEB December 2023 decision saves consumers money. The opposite is true. The OEB correctly recognized that it is foolish to force existing gas users to pay for hook-ups to new houses when many of them as well as many existing homes will abandon gas heating for the less expensive and much cleaner and safer heat pump technology. Again it is outrageous that the government continues to tell lies about this.

The answer from me to virtually all your so-called questions (which force false assumptions) is get off gas as fast as possible. It is a huge economic burden on Ontario, a huge source of pollution we don't need and an irresponsible source of the greenhouse gases that are trashing the global climate including Ontario's where more extreme weather is already generating flooding, forest fires, extreme heat crises, and more.