Ontario has moved to overturn a decision by the province’s natural gas regulator to make homebuyers pay the full cost of natural gas connections to their homes.The December decision by the Ontario Energy Board would require potential homebuyers to pay the full cost of new hookups up front, rather than amortize it on their gas bills over a 40-year period. That in turn would add up to $4,400 to the price of a new home. The board justified the decision on the grounds that it would make alternatives such as heat pumps more cost competitive and incentivize developers “to choose the most cost-effective, energy-efficient choice.”.On Thursday, Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith introduced legislation to reverse the decision and require the regulator to hold public hearings on “any matter of public interest” to avoid arbitrary decisions.The move is seen as a drastic step against the independence of the board, which is supposed to operate at arm’s length from government.“The last thing we want to be doing is intervening here, but we do have the best interests of the people of Ontario in mind,” Smith said. “We want to ensure that we keep the cost of building new homes down, because we set a goal to build (1.5 million) of them over the next 10 years. The last thing we want to see is the price of new homes going up.”It comes after Calgary-based Enbridge, the province’s largest natural gas utility, filed a motion with the OEB to reconsider the ruling and asked Ontario’s Divisional Court to quash it.In its notice of appeal Enbridge said the OEB has historically directed it to use 40 years and ‘erred in law’ by “rendering a decision in the absence of any evidence considering the effect of a zero-year revenue horizon and with no evidence that any other jurisdiction has adopted this approach.”.Predictably, environmental groups were outraged, accusing the Conservative government of gutting Ontario’s clean energy goals.“If the Ford government overrules the Ontario Energy Board, homeowners will get stuck with higher costs and more air pollution,” tweeted Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada.“We should be installing the cleanest and lowest-cost options for heating and cooling new homes, even if that makes some of the Ford government’s well-connected friends at Enbridge and in the property development industry unhappy.”
Ontario has moved to overturn a decision by the province’s natural gas regulator to make homebuyers pay the full cost of natural gas connections to their homes.The December decision by the Ontario Energy Board would require potential homebuyers to pay the full cost of new hookups up front, rather than amortize it on their gas bills over a 40-year period. That in turn would add up to $4,400 to the price of a new home. The board justified the decision on the grounds that it would make alternatives such as heat pumps more cost competitive and incentivize developers “to choose the most cost-effective, energy-efficient choice.”.On Thursday, Ontario Energy Minister Todd Smith introduced legislation to reverse the decision and require the regulator to hold public hearings on “any matter of public interest” to avoid arbitrary decisions.The move is seen as a drastic step against the independence of the board, which is supposed to operate at arm’s length from government.“The last thing we want to be doing is intervening here, but we do have the best interests of the people of Ontario in mind,” Smith said. “We want to ensure that we keep the cost of building new homes down, because we set a goal to build (1.5 million) of them over the next 10 years. The last thing we want to see is the price of new homes going up.”It comes after Calgary-based Enbridge, the province’s largest natural gas utility, filed a motion with the OEB to reconsider the ruling and asked Ontario’s Divisional Court to quash it.In its notice of appeal Enbridge said the OEB has historically directed it to use 40 years and ‘erred in law’ by “rendering a decision in the absence of any evidence considering the effect of a zero-year revenue horizon and with no evidence that any other jurisdiction has adopted this approach.”.Predictably, environmental groups were outraged, accusing the Conservative government of gutting Ontario’s clean energy goals.“If the Ford government overrules the Ontario Energy Board, homeowners will get stuck with higher costs and more air pollution,” tweeted Keith Stewart, a senior energy strategist with Greenpeace Canada.“We should be installing the cleanest and lowest-cost options for heating and cooling new homes, even if that makes some of the Ford government’s well-connected friends at Enbridge and in the property development industry unhappy.”
