Two projects in Bruce and Grey counties are included in the second phase of Ontario’s natural gas expansion program.
The Ontario government unveiled 28 projects on Wednesday selected for more than $234-million in combined funding through the program.
In Bruce County, $20.3-million is allocated for an EPCOR natural gas expansion in Brockton. The project will extend service to many rural areas of the municipality by 2025, including the communities of Elmwood, Vesta, Solway, Cargill, Pinkerton, Bradley, Glammis, Chepstow, Greenock and Riversdale.
It’s expected 501 new connections will be created in Brockton.
According to a release from the Municipality of Brockton, local residents and businesses showed overwhelming support for the EPCOR project through a public survey in January.
“This will enable our agribusinesses, developers and smaller businesses in our rural hamlets and villages to remain competitive, and will offer rural residents equal access to this clean and affordable source of energy,” Brockton Mayor Chris Peabody says in a statement. “We have an excellent partnership with EPCOR that we look forward to continuing.”
A Grey County project is also included in the second phase of the province’s natural gas expansion program — $5.1-million is allocated for an Enbridge proposal to extend service in West Grey to Neustadt.
According to Associate Minister of Energy and MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Bill Walker, construction on the Neustadt project is expected to begin in mid-2023.
Walker says it will create nearly 220 new connections, 188 of those being residential or commercial customers.
“This is game changing for many of those people,” Walker says. “It’s making life more affordable for families, businesses and farmers.”
Walker explains the average residential homeowner typically sees annual cost savings of $250-$1,500 after switching to natural gas from other from electric heat, propane or oil.
According to an Ontario government release, the projects included in the first two phases of the province’s natural gas expansion program are funded through a $1-per-month charge to existing customers.
Phase 1 launched in 2019, and has supported projects expected to connect over 9,000 customers in 16 communities.