Utilities
Electricity
Provincial power generators compete with suppliers in and outside of Ontario; they sell their electricity to large purchasers of bulk power (these comprise the wholesale market administered by the Independent Electricity System Operator). Ontario Power Generation Inc. generates the bulk of the province's electricity supply and sells power directly to industries and municipal utilities. Ontario 's high-voltage electricity transmission system and (largely rural) low-voltage distribution system are owned and operated by the corporation Hydro One.
Two utilities provide power to Sarnia-Lambton: the Bluewater Power Distribution Company in Sarnia , Alvinston, Oil Springs, Petrolia, Point Edward and Warwick Township ; and Hydro One Networks Company elsewhere.
Infrastructure Highlights
In 2003, TransAlta Corporation began operating a new 440-megawatt gas-fired facility at its Regional Cogeneration Plant in Sarnia. The new facility is integrated with 135 MW from pre-existing TransAlta facilities. It currently supplies power and steam to four local companies-LANXESS, Dow Chemical Canada Inc., NOVA Chemicals Ltd. and Suncor Energy Products Inc. In future, there is potential for power from the plant to be made available to other industries in the community.
The coal-fired Lambton Generating Station is owned by Ontario Power Generation Inc. It has four units with a total generating capacity of 1975 Megawatts, and is equipped with sulphur dioxide scrubbers to meet environmental requirements.
In response to the increasing demand for new electricity generation from the Ontario Power Authority, two new gas-fired plants have chosen Sarnia-Lambton for their new facilities. Greenfield Energy began operations in St. Clair Township in October of 2008, and and St. Clair Energy isunder construction in St. Clair Township, with contracted capacities of 1,005 Megawatts and 570 Megawatts respectively.
Industrial Rates
In the Ontario electricity market, the costs of generating, transmitting and distributing electricity are billed separately to consumers. Industries that consume more than 250,000 kilowatt-hours per year pay the hourly wholesale market price, unless they have signed a fixed-rate contract. The wholesale price is determined by the forces of supply and demand and is administered by the Independent Electricity System Operator. Since January 1, 2008, the average wholesale price has been 4.88 cents per kWh.
Sample approximate monthly bill (excluding taxes) for
chemical manufacturing facility with demand of 4,500 kilowatts and usage of 2,000,000 kilowatt-hours |
| Commodity cost |
$110,000 |
| Other costs |
$53,103 |
| Total |
$163,103 |
Sample approximate monthly bill (excluding taxes) for
automotive parts manufacturing facility with demand of 4,500 kilowatts and usage of 2,000,000 kilowatt-hours |
| Commodity cost |
$165,000 |
| Other costs |
$87,221 |
| Total |
$252,221 |
The Ontario Energy Board is responsible for regulating prices for low-volume consumers - those who use fewer than 250,000 kWh a year. The OEB adjusts these rates twice a year, to better reflect the true cost of electricity. The following rates and price thresholds apply to residential and low-volume customers during the summer months (May 1 to October 31, 2008).
Residential Users:
- 5.0 cents per kWh for the first 600 kWh in a month
- 5.9 cents per kWh for each additional kWh
Low-volume Business Users:
- 5.0 cents per kWh for the first 750 kWh in a month
- 5.9 cents per kWh for each additional kWh
The Ontario Energy Board will set winter rates in the Fall of 2008. For more information, visit Bluewater Power Distribution Company and Hydro One Networks Company.
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Natural Gas
Industrial, commercial and residential customers may buy natural gas from a marketer, a producer or Union Gas Limited, the local utility in Sarnia-Lambton. Whomever you buy from, Union Gas delivers the gas to you.
Union Gas, a Duke Energy Company, owns and operates the natural gas storage, transmission and distribution systems in Sarnia-Lambton. A major Canadian utility, it delivers energy and related services to more than one million industrial, commercial and residential customers in more than 400 Ontario communities.
Union Gas also provides natural gas storage and transportation services for other utilities and energy market participants in Ontario, Quebec and the United States. Its Dawn Storage Complex in Sarnia-Lambton is the largest natural gas facility of its type in Canada-and one of the fastest-growing storage hubs in North America. The Dawn facility has a working capacity of over 150 billion cubic feet; it can deliver up to 2 billion cubic feet a day to storage and transportation customers.
In St. Clair Township, near the community of Corunna, Enbridge Consumers Gas maintains one of the largest underground gas storage operations in Canada, with the capacity to store nearly 100 billion cubic feet of gas in ten storage reservoirs. Enbridge Consumers Gas is a regulated utility that distributes natural gas to 1.4 million customers in the greater Toronto, Niagara and Ottawa regions.
Industrial and Commercial Rates
Typically, a gas customer's billing includes: the purchase price of the commodity consumed; a transportation charge for conveying gas from Western Canada to the Union Gas distribution system; a storage charge; and a charge for delivery to the customer's facility. There is also a monthly fixed charge to cover ongoing standard services. For large-volume purchases, industrial contract customers negotiate directly with Union Gas.
Approximate 2008 annual bills (excluding taxes) for various building uses:
- Large national retail chain: $49,423 with total consumption of 109,200 cubic metres
- Industrial machine shop: $26,805 with consumption of 58,250 cubic metres
- Automotive parts manufacturing: $600,614 with consumption of 1,358,000 cubic metres. Gas is utilized for heating and in the manufacturing process.
Actual consumption and associated costs vary widely according to consumption profile, rate class and commodity price. |
For more information, please visit the Union Gas business website. For large industry visit the Union Gas large business website.
Potable Water
Approximately 90% of Sarnia-Lambton residents obtain potable water (suitable for drinking) from treatment plants. These plants draw water from the head of the St. Clair River in the Village of Point Edward and from Lake Huron inlets located in the community of Bright's Grove in eastern Sarnia and from Grand Bend in the northeast corner of the region. The Ontario Clean Water Agency provides under contract to the Lambton Area Water Supply System the operational services to maintain the system infrastructure and regulatory compliance.
The average combined daily intake of the Pt. Edward and Bright's Grove plants varies from a low of 53,000 cubic metres in mid-winter to a maximum of 164,000 cubic metres in mid-summer.
Potable water is distributed through some 250 kilometres of pipeline, which extend throughout much of Sarnia-Lambton. The three major distribution systems are the West Lambton System, the East Lambton System and the Petrolia System.
Sewage Treatment
Sanitary sewage treatment facilities are located throughout the municipalities of Sarnia-Lambton. Industrial operations that generate unacceptable contaminants are required to pretreat such waste before putting the effluent into the municipal sewer system.
2008 - City of Sarnia - Monthly Service Charge:
5/8" Meter - $10.04
3/4" Meter - $14.18
1" Meter - $24.85
11/2" Meter - $49.71
2" Meter - $91.86
3" Meter - $176.79
4" Meter - $276.25
6" Meter - $574.25
8" Meter - $1,104.83
10" Meter - $1,830.17
Plus $0.90585 per cubic metre of water consumed
Sewer Surcharge - 97% of total water bill
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2008 - Township of St. Clair - Industrial Rates -
Monthly Fixed Charge:
| 0.5"” Meter |
– |
$6.50 |
|
|
| 0.625"” Meter |
– |
$6.50 |
|
|
| 0.75” Meter |
– |
$6.50 |
|
|
| 1” Meter |
– |
$16.00 |
Monthly Fire Charge: |
| 1½” Meter |
– |
$37.00 |
Metered |
Unmetered |
| 2” Meter |
– |
$65.00 |
|
|
| 3” Meter |
– |
$146.00 |
$6.00 |
$12.00 |
| 4” Meter |
– |
$260.00 |
$11.00 |
$22.00 |
| 6” Meter |
– |
$585.00 |
$24.00 |
$48.00 |
| 8” Meter |
– |
$1,040.00 |
$43.00 |
$86.00 |
| 10” Meter |
– |
$1,625.00 |
$68.00 |
$136.00 |
| 12" Meter |
–
|
$2,340.00 |
$98.00 |
$196.00 |
Plus: First 5,000 cubic metres of water consumed - $0.80 per cubic metre Balance - $0.76 per cubic metre
Sewers - 175% of Water Bill
2008 - Municipality of Lambton Shores
Water: Monthly Service Charge - $10.82 Balance - $1.81 per cubic metre
Sewers: Monthly Service Charge - $10.61 Balance - $1.58 per cubic metre
2008 - Town of Petrolia
Water: Monthly Service Charge - $8.25 Balance - $1.16 per cubic metre
Sewers: 125% of Water Charge
2008 - Township of Warwick
Watford:
Water: Minimum Bi-Monthly Charge: $41.98 (up to 22 cubic metres)
Next 92 cubic metres - $0.9886 per cubic metre;
Balance - $0.8639 per cubic metre
Sewers: 53% of Water Charge
Rural Warwick:
Water: Minimum Quarterly Charge: $62.97 (up to 33 cubic metres)
Next 138 cubic metres - $0.9886 per cubic metre;
Balance - $0.8639 per cubic metre |
