Union Gas, headquartered in Chatham, Ontario, has been a mainstay of the Canadian natural gas industry for more than a century. Prior to its merger with Enbridge Gas Distribution on January 1, 2019, Union Gas provided distribution services to roughly 1.5 million residential and commercial customers throughout Ontario.
Current Natural Gas Plans
As a regulated natural gas utility, Union Gas charged rates set by the Ontario Energy Board, which updates these rates as necessary on a quarterly basis, in January, April, July, and October. Current commodity prices for natural gas can be viewed on the Ontario Energy Board site.
History of Union Gas
Union Gas was originally founded in Niagara Falls as the Union Natural Gas Company of Canada Limited in 1911, as a result of the consolidation of three previously existing gas companies: Ridgetown Fuel Supply, United Fuel Supply, and Volcanic Oil and Gas Company. In 1918, Union Natural Gas moved its headquarters to Chatham, which remains a major operations center for Enbridge Gas today.
Over the next several decades, Union Gas expanded its services beyond the bounds of Chatham, into other cities in Southwest Ontario, including Windsor, London, Stratford, and elsewhere.
Recent Developments at Union Gas
Between 1911 and 1985, Union Gas grew to serve half a million Ontario customers. The fact that it only took 30 more years to triple their customer base to over 1.5 million makes it clear that Union Gas has truly exploded in size in recent years.
In 1999, Union Gas spun off the retail sales divisions of the company into Union Energy, in response to changes in Ontario energy regulations. In 2002, Union Gas’s parent company, Westcoast Energy, was purchased by Duke Energy, which in 2007 spun off Union Gas and its other natural gas businesses into a new publicly traded company, Spectra Energy Corp. Spectra, which was headquartered in Houston, Texas, later merged with Enbridge in 2017, and Union Gas became part of Enbridge Gas Inc. on January 1, 2019.
- What is the Union Gas-Enbridge merger, and how did it happen? Is Union Gas now Enbridge?
To begin, Enbridge and Union Gas were regulated rate providers for natural gas that provided services to places in Ontario such as Brantford and Thunder Bay. The Union Gas-Enbridge merger on January 1, 2019 merged Enbridge and Union Gas into a single company, Enbridge Gas Inc.
- What changes after the Union Gas and Enbridge merger? What stays the same after the Union Gas and Enbridge merger?
According to Enbridge, anything previously branded as Union Gas or Enbridge will transition to the new company name, Enbridge Gas Inc. The Union Gas and Enbridge merger will not affect the rate zones Union Gas and Enbridge previously set in place. The Union Gas coverage area and Enbridge coverage area have no reported changes as a result of the merger. The prices paid by consumers depend on their geographic region and the current market price of natural gas. In relation to this, the bill payment process for paying natural gas bills stays the same since consumer account numbers and methods for paying remain the same.
- Will the quality of the service change?
According to Enbridge, the quality of service provided by Enbridge Gas Inc. will not differ from before and will still maintain a high standard of operational excellence via operational efficiency, reliability of service and a combined 170 years of experience. The company states that consumers can still expect the best and lowest cost services to be provided to them by Enbridge Gas Inc.
- Will customers have access to the same programs?
According to Enbridge Gas, there are not any immediate changes to programs offered by what was previously Enbridge or Union Gas.
