As of next year, new customers connecting to the Énergir network will no longer be able to consume natural gas from fossil sources. The distributor will force the switch to renewable natural gas, which will become an obligation for any new connection.
Starting in the spring of 2024, two choices will be offered to new customers who wish to connect to the former Gaz Métro network. They will be able to turn to a dual-energy-GNR system, which uses electricity as the main source of energy except for periods of extreme cold when they will use renewable natural gas (GNR). The other option: consume only GNR.
“The Régie must take the time to analyze the file. We think that in a year, we could only make new carbon neutral connections. Obviously, we do not control the regulatory calendar, “explains to the Duty Stéphanie Trudeau, Executive Vice-President at Énergir.
Customers, both residential and commercial and institutional, will have to comply with these new requirements. “We think that if we do our job well job, we can seek out — especially with dual-energy systems — the commercial and institutional segments. We will not hide that in the residential sector, we are going to lose it, ”she said.
The obligation to consume GNR is the culmination of a shift started several years ago, says Mme Trudeau. “As of 2019, we stopped actively marketing fossil natural gas. Then we removed [il y a quelques jours] subsidies for 100% fossil natural gas. Everything tightened up. »
Énergir wants to achieve carbon neutrality for the buildings it serves by 2040 and for the energy it distributes by 2050. To do this, the company plans to reduce the volumes of fossil natural gas and increase the quantity of renewable natural gas (RNG) in its network. This represents approximately 1% of the volume currently consumed. Better than anyone, the company knows that its future depends on a clientele, certainly less numerous, but more paying.
“We have to stop comparing ourselves with fossil gas [qui est plus bas] ; it is rather necessary to compare oneself with electricity, which is green. For a small retailer, it is more advantageous to turn to dual-energy-GNR than to all-electric,” she recalls.
This shift follows a downward trend in connections to the Énergir network in recent years. Even though housing starts have recently reached record highs, the distributor has seen a notable decrease in the number of new connections over time.
In six years, their number has dropped by nearly 35% across the province, from 4,168 in 2017 to 2,744 in 2022. “In Montreal, we have seen a drop of nearly 40%,” says Stéphanie Trudeau.
Last year, GNR accounted for only 0.6% of the volume distributed by Énergir’s network. The company maintains that it has secured a supply for the GNR to total 1.2% this year. By autumn 2024, volumes distributed should represent 2.4% of network volumes, and 5% the following year.