Lake of Bays supports the Ontario Energy Board decision that could lower energy bills
Lake of Bays Council agreed to support the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) with a decision that could lower energy bills, in the March 12, 2024, meeting.
Councillor’s Mike Peppard and George Anderson brought forward a recommendation for Council to support the OEB’s decision to end the subsidy for methane pipelines.
Peppard explained, “The OEB made a decision to discontinue subsidies for new gas pipelines into new housing in the province, which in turn would help save existing gas customers, and also help reduce the amount of abandoned infrastructures twenty years from now.”
He added that many residents, especially those using natural gas, support the OEB decision, and it would encourage home builders to consider alternative heating methods.
However, one day after the OEB announced their decision the Ontario government said they would be “overturning the decision,” said Peppard.
According to the Council agenda, “Natural gas is methane gas, which is fossil fuel that causes approximately one third of Ontario’s GHG [Green House Gas] emissions, and must be phased out because it is inconsistent with all climate targets, while heat pumps result in the lowest GHG emissions and are consistent with a zero-carbon future, and other alternatives, such as solar, and wood are also lower GHG emissions.”
The agenda continues that in addition to the OEB decision leading to lower energy bills for residents, it makes it more affordable for people purchasing new houses, and “cut an additional $1.25 billion in pipeline costs.”
Continued construction of methane gas pipelines that have a lifetime of approximately 60 years are inconsistent with the efforts of municipalities to deal with climate change, “and will result in higher carbon emissions, higher energy bills, higher future decarbonization retrofit costs to get off fossil fuel heating, and a continued financial drain as dollars leave the province to pay for fossil fuels extracted in other jurisdictions,” adds the agenda.
Mayor, Terry Glover, expressed concern about the ongoing changes with people switching between propane, wood, electricity and gas. He asked, “Does this put us in any kind of pickle?”
Peppard advised that developers have a choice about whether they want to introduce natural gas into communities being built, rather than being forced by a company selling gas, such as Enbridge.
Anderson explained, “There’s no stopping a developer from supporting gas into a particular area. The idea is that we’re not putting the cost of that onto the backs of the customers for the next forty years, when that kind of infrastructure may become redundant.”
He added, “So, basically what we’re looking at is to have developers making decisions what is best for their community and as they move forward.”
Peppard advised that other municipalities are getting on board to support the OEB and that it will also be brought forward to the District of Muskoka next week.
The resolution will also be circulated to the President of AMO, Colin Best, Premier, Doug Ford, Ministry of Energy, Todd Smith, Ministry of Finance, Peter Bethlenfalvy, and other regional municipalities requesting support for the proposed changes.
