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The Ontario government is welcoming the start of construction by Enbridge Gas on its $358 million Panhandle Regional Expansion Project. The project is expected to secure approximately 7,000 jobs, enable $4.5 billion of investment opportunities in the province and support Ontario’s expansion of reliable, affordable and cleaner energy to power its growing economy.

This project will lead to the construction of approximately 19 kilometers of new pipeline that will parallel the existing pipeline and increase the capacity of Enbridge’s Panhandle Transmission System. The pipeline expansion is a vital investment in energy infrastructure that will encourage economic development in Southwestern Ontario and support the growth of the region’s vibrant world-leading greenhouse industry.

The new pipeline will also help supply the electricity generation needed to meet the province’s growing energy demands, due to increasing electrification, strong population and economic growth. Access to a reliable and affordable electricity supply is increasingly a key priority for companies, particularly those investing in large-scale manufacturing projects.

The Panhandle Regional Expansion Project is part of Ontario’s efforts to meet the province’s growing energy demands. As outlined in Powering Ontario’s Growth, Ontario has also secured Canada’s largest clean energy storage procurement, invested more than $1 billion in energy efficiency programs, is supporting the continued safe operation of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station and is building Canada’s first grid-scale Small Modular Reactor.

Quick Facts In May 2024, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) granted Enbridge Gas leave to construct (LTC) for the Panhandle Regional Expansion Project, permitting the project to proceed. The Panhandle Regional Expansion Project has a targeted in-service date of November 1, 2024, with additional construction related to the project to be completed in 2025. The Panhandle Transmission System currently serves residential, commercial, industrial, greenhouse and power generation customers in Dawn-Euphemia, St. Clair, Chatham-Kent, Windsor, Lakeshore, Leamington, Kingsville, Essex, Amherstburg, LaSalle, and Tecumseh. Ontario’s electricity system is among the cleanest in the world, powered by a diverse supply mix including nuclear, hydroelectric, renewables, natural gas and biomass. The Independent Electricity System Operator’s Pathways to Decarbonization Report forecasts that in less than 30 years, Ontario could need to more than double its electricity generation capacity from 42,000 megawatts (MW) today to 88,000 MW in 2050. Best Regards,

Office of MPP Kinga Surma

Relevant recent reporting: https://thenarwhal.ca/ontario-enbridge-gas-municipalities/

Reminder that natural gas is marketing term for methane, a bi-product of fracking which is neither clean nor renewable.