Heritage Gas defends against complaints about access
Posted Oct 5, 2010 03:39:53 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Natural gas has been coming ashore for more than a decade, and there are people who are wondering why Nova Scotia only accounts for 15 per cent of the consumption of the resource.
A complaint was filed by Dalhousie Professor Dr. Peter Allen earlier this year. He contends the company that has the rights to distribute natural gas in the province is not living up to its obligations. He says their criteria to expand into residential areas is too strict. He points out they have 466 single family homes in his south end neighbourhood bounded by Beaufort Avenue, South and Robie Streets. And he says they are surrounded by gas lines servicing Dalhousie, St. Mary’s and the QE II. They were turned down because the proposal didn’t meet the gas company’s criteria because it wasn’t financially feasible.
That’s something Dr. Allen questioned. “If it doesn’t work here where we have natural gas available in the area at a couple points with gas mains already there — three mains on the perimeter of this area already — where in Nova Scotia would it be feasible?”
The CEO of Heritage Gas admitted that even if 100 per cent of the homes in the area on the peninsula where Dr. Allen lives were interested in switching if it would be feasible to supply them.
Heritage CEO Jim Bracken says “not under the current terms of the financial aspects of the Heritage gas model.”
The Regional Development Agency from Pictou county also provided testimony at the Utility and Review Board hearing Tuesday saying they were supposed to have natural gas in their community in 2009. And they say they’re still wondering if they’ll ever be able to tap into the gas pipeline that runs through their part of the province delivering natural gas to customers in Amherst, New Brunswick and the United States.
The board will now consider the evidence from today to determine if Heritage Gas is living up to its obligations as stated under a distribution agreement with the province.
