Natural Gas

Idea:

The city should look into promoting the expansion of natural gas use.

Staff feedback:

Hi there! When natural gas first came to Fredericton (approximately 20 years ago), the City did promote and work with residents in our wellfield protection zones to switch from oil heat to natural gas. Fewer homes using oil heat translated into a reduced overall risk to our water supply.

In terms of an expansion of natural gas use, distribution of natural gas in New Brunswick is managed by a private company that makes investment decisions based on market conditions and opportunities. It would therefore be up to the private company to determine if they wanted to invest in their infrastructure to expand natural gas utilities to more residents.

Climate and energy experts recommend that the focus should be on electrifying homes so that as our grid greens, homes can reduce their emissions. For decades the thinking was the other way around because electricity, especially coal powered, was dirty and burning gas on site reduced emissions compared to the conventional grid. However, thinking has now flipped particularly after the signing of Paris agreement. Buildings on natural gas will not be able to take advantage of positive changes to the grid as much as those that heat with electricity.