Electricity

Ontario Power Generation Inc. purchases over 2,000 MW of natural gas generated power (28% of the Province’s natural gas power capacity) through various privately owned and operated facilities in Lambton County.  This locally generated power is used by area industries and also transported through Ontario’s electrical transmission system to other parts of the province and the U.S.

Infrastructure Highlights

  • TransAlta Energy Corporation – 506 MW Co-generation (natural gas)
  • Greenfield Energy – 1,005 MW (natural gas)
  • St. Clair Energy Centre – 577 MW (natural gas)
  • Green Electron Power Project – 289 MW (natural gas)
  • Photo-voltaic Solar Farms – 120 MW
  • Wind – over 165 MW with many more under construction and proposed

TransAlta Corporation – Sarnia operates a 506 megawatt gas-fired facility at its Regional Cogeneration Plant in Sarnia. The facility currently supplies power and steam to local companies, including ARLANXEO Canada Inc., NOVA Chemicals Ltd. and Suncor Energy Products Inc. TransAlta also owns and operates the Bluewater Energy Park, which is located adjacent to the cogeneration plant.  Industries locating in the Energy Park can access steam and “behind the fence” electric power pricing.

Solar – Enbridge operates the 80 MW Sarnia solar plant in Sarnia; and NextEra Energy Inc. operates two 20 MW solar plants in St. Clair Township.

Wind – Various wind projects have been built throughout Lambton County and more projects are under development.  These projects take advantage of the natural winds that come from Lake Huron to generate over 165 MW of wind energy.

Electrical Distribution Utilities

Two utilities provide power to Sarnia-Lambton: the Bluewater Power Distribution Company in Sarnia, Alvinston, Oil Springs, Petrolia, Point Edward and Warwick Township (part); and Hydro One Networks Company throughout the rest of Lambton County.

 

Natural Gas

Lambton County has an extensive network of natural gas storage facilities and distribution networks.

Union Gas, a Spectra 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.

Dawn Hub – Union Gas also provides natural gas storage and transportation services for other utilities and energy market participants in Ontario, Quebec and the United States. The Dawn Hub is the largest integrated natural gas storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America. It offers customers such as power generators, distribution and pipeline companies and energy marketers an important link in the movement of natural gas from key supply basins to markets in central Canada and the northeast U.S.

  • Working capacity of over 150 billion cubic feet (Bcf)
  • Takeaway capacity of 6.4 Bcf/d, growing to more than 8 Bcf/d by 2020
  • Interconnects with several major pipelines including Vector, Great Lakes, Panhandle, Bluewater, MichCon, Enbridge, and TransCanada at Kirkwall and at Parkway

Enbridge Gas Storage – In St. Clair Township, near the community of Corunna, Enbridge Gas maintains a large underground gas storage facility

  • Working capacity of over 112 billion cubic feet (Bcf)
  • Interconnects to four major pipelines including Vector, Niagara Gas Transmission – Link Pipeline, TransCanada, and Union

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.

For more information, please visit the Union Gas business website or the Data Section on our website.

 

Water

The Lambton Area Water Supply System (LAWSS) provides approximately 90% of Sarnia-Lambton residents with drinking water. The plant draws water from the head of the St. Clair River in the Village of Point Edward. 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.

  • Maximum rated capacity of 182,000 m3 / day
  • Peak daily capacity in 2014 was less than 64,352 m3 / day or 943.5 L / sec.
  • 250 km of watermain of various sizes and materials
  • Three standpipes, one elevated tower
  • Two booster stations with a combined storage capacity of 90,000 m3

The Town of Petrolia owns the Petrolia Bright’s Grove Water Treatment Plant, which is operated by Ontario Clean Water Agency (OCWA). The system provides Petrolia as well as Enniskillen Township with water through a network of 40 km of pipeline, booster station and water tower.

The Lake Huron Primary Water Supply System services a portion of the municipality of Lambton Shores as well as other communities (London, North Middlesex, South Huron, Bluewater, Middlesex Centre, Lucan-Biddulph and Strathroy-Caradoc) from a water treatment plant located in South Huron, north of the village of Grand Bend. The plant has a current treatment capacity of 340 million litres per day (75 million Imperial gallons per day) and serves a population of approximately 350,000 people.

 

Sewage Treatment

Sanitary sewage treatment facilities are located throughout Sarnia-Lambton’s 11 municipalities. Industrial operations that generate unacceptable contaminants are required to pretreat such waste before putting the effluent into the municipal sewer system.

 

Rates for various utilities are available from the Data Section of this website.