Natural gas initiative could have service partner by end of the summer

The South Bruce natural gas initiative is moving into the next phase as the three municipalities - Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss and Arran-Elderslie - have announced they could be in a position to select a distribution service partner by the end of the summer.

Tuesday (May 19), the three municipal councils received the results of their confidential Request for Information process, designed to solicit interest and identify potential partners to implement the proposed new natural gas distribution utility for South Bruce.

Kincardine mayor Anne Eadie said the Request for Information approach was a success. "It has produced multiple, high-quality responses from a very impressive range of potential partners," she said.

"We are very encouraged with these preliminary responses," said Huron-Kinloss mayor Mitch Twolan. "We all believed it was very important for our citizens that we tested the market to see who is interested in serving our community and to understand what they bring to the table in terms of natural gas experience, financial resources, and ability to get this project done in a cost-effective, timely way for our communities."

Arran-Elderslie mayor Paul Eagleson said the next step is to schedule separate, face-to-face meetings with the various respondents the three municipalities are most interested in, with a view to clarifying and confirming the details of the various options before them.

"We anticipate being in a position to select our preferred partner by the end of the summer," said Eadie.

After that, all three municipalities will host information meetings so the public will have a chance to understand the approach being pursued, and the next steps toward making natural gas service a reality for the three communities.