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Welcome to our websiteWe are an independent quasi-judicial body with both regulatory functions and adjudicative jurisdiction over a wide scope of subject areas. |
| Natural Gas |
Natural Gas The NSUARB has authority to grant franchises for the distribution of natural gas in Nova Scotia. The Board also exercises general regulatory supervision over the granted franchises, pipelines and underground hydrocarbon storage facilities. This function involves (1) the regulation of gas distribution and includes the granting of franchises and amendments to franchises, the licencing of gas marketers to sell natural gas to consumers, and the approval of rates and terms of service, these functions falling under the Gas Distribution Act; (2) the regulation of the design, construction and operation of pipelines for the transportation of oil or natural gas under the Pipeline Act; (3) the regulation of the design, construction and operation of underground hydrocarbon storage facilities under the Underground Hydrocarbons Storage Act; and (4) the hearing of appeals from decisions of the Minister responsible for the Petroleum Resources Removal Permit Act. Further, the Board exercises powers with respect to public safety issues concerning the design, construction, operation and abandonment of liquefied natural gas plants in the province. Liquefied Natural GasAs a result of an Order-in-Council dated July 8, 2005, the Gas Plant Facility Regulations were amended to give the Board powers to address public safety issues respecting liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants in Nova Scotia. The role of the Board, as set out in the Regulations, is to address public safety issues in relation to the design, construction, operation and abandonment of LNG plants in the Province. The Regulations have adopted the Canadian Standards Association Standard CAN/CSA Z276-01 “Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) - Production, Storage and Handling¯." The Regulations have also adopted a comprehensive Code of Practice. The CSA Standard and the Code of Practice govern the design, construction, operation and abandonment of LNG plants. The Board's role is to ensure that the CSA Standard and the Code of Practice adopted by the Provincial government are complied with in all respects. To that end, the Board has been granted broad powers to ensure compliance. Even after a Permit to Construct or a Licence to Operate have been granted, the Board possesses powers to suspend or terminate permits or licences if compliance is not being achieved. On November 21, 2005, the Board issued a Permit to Construct to Bear Head LNG Corporation to construct tank base concrete foundations for a proposed LNG plant at Bear Head, near Point Tupper, Richmond County, Nova Scotia. A further Permit to Construct was issued by the Board on June 6, 2006 to construct an LNG Plant at the same location. The issuance of these Permits to Construct followed a series of open houses held by Bear Head LNG Corporation and a public information session conducted by the Board. Lloyd's Register has been engaged by the Board as its Certifying Authority with respect to the design and construction of the Bear Head LNG plant. In addition to monitoring the plant's construction, Lloyd's Register also reviews material specifications and contractor qualifications to ensure compliance with the CSA Standard and the Code of Practice.
Natural Gas Distribution FranchisesThe Gas Distribution Act provides a framework for the “orderly development and operation of a gas delivery system"¯ in Nova Scotia. The principal duty of the Board under the Act is to grant gas distribution franchises and grant licences to market natural gas. While the Act gives the Board the authority to grant a franchise application after a hearing, it also stipulates that the Board's decision is subject to approval by the Governor in Council. The Board must be satisfied that the granting of a franchise is in the public interest. Among the factors that the Board is directed to consider on a franchise application is the demand for natural gas service, the availability of natural gas, the economic feasibility of the proposal and the financial capability of the applicant. The Act also gives the Board the authority to set the rates and tolls to be charged by a franchise holder, and provides criteria for the Board to consider when determining appropriate rates and tolls. Applications for natural gas franchises are heard under the authority of the Gas Distribution Act and the Gas Distribution Regulations (Nova Scotia) made under that Act by the Governor in Council (“GIC Regulations"¯). The Board has also made regulations, the Board Gas Distribution Regulations (Nova Scotia), which established the procedures, filing requirements and fees payable by the applicants and the Board Gas Marketers Regulations, which established the required content for an application, together with the procedures and fees relating to its filing. The Board held a public hearing in October, 2002 to consider applications by Heritage Gas Limited (“Heritage") and Strait Area Gas Corporation (“Strait") for franchises to construct and operate natural gas delivery systems in the Province. Strait is a joint venture of the Towns of Port Hawkesbury and Mulgrave which was formed for the purpose of seeking a natural gas franchise. Heritage is a corporation incorporated under the Canada Business Corporations Act with its head office in Halifax Regional Municipality. The largest shareholder is SaskEnergy International Incorporated (50.1%), a wholly owned subsidiary of SaskEnergy Incorporated (“SaskEnergy"¯). SaskEnergy is a Saskatchewan Crown Corporation whose principal business is the distribution and transmission of natural gas. The other shareholders of Heritage are Scotia Investments Limited (“Scotia Investments") (25%) and AltaGas Services Inc. (“AltaGas"¯) (24.9%). Scotia Investments, established in 1945, is a Nova Scotia based investment holding company which is privately owned by the Jodrey family. AltaGas is an Alberta based energy company involved in gathering and processing natural gas; the distribution of natural gas in Alberta and Northern Canada; and energy services including the marketing of natural gas and electricity. In a decision dated February 7, 2003, the Board granted to Heritage a full regulation class franchise for a period of 25 years, subject to certain conditions. The franchise area consists of five of the eight areas applied for by Heritage, namely, Cumberland, Colchester, Pictou and Halifax Counties, the Municipality of the District of East Hants and the Goldboro area of Guysbourough County. In the same decision, the Board determined it appropriate to approve the grant of a franchise to Strait, in principle, subject to the approval of the Governor in Council and subject to certain directives and conditions outlined in the decision, including Strait filing documentation, to be reviewed in a second phase of the hearing into Strait's franchise application, which satisfies the Board that Strait meets the statutory and regulatory requirements for a franchise. Strait's franchise area, approved in principle, consists of areas in Antigonish, Inverness, and Richmond Counties and Guysborough County (excluding Goldboro). The Governor in Council, by Order dated February 21, 2003, subsequently approved the grant of franchises to both Heritage and Strait. In a decision dated July 29, 2004, the Board approved Heritage's Schedule of Rates, Tolls and Charges and Terms of Service, subject to amendments to be filed. The Board issued an Order on October 26, 2004 approving the revised Regulation of PipelinesSince September 1, 1999, responsibilities respecting the Pipeline Act and the regulations thereunder have been assigned to the NSUARB. The Pipeline Act directs the Board to exercise control over the manner in which gas and oil pipelines are constructed, tested, maintained and operated. No person shall construct a pipeline except pursuant to a permit issued by the Board and no person shall operate a pipeline except pursuant to a licence issued by the Board. Permits and licences may contain such terms and conditions as the Board considers appropriate or as are prescribed by the Pipeline Regulations (Nova Scotia) and the Gas Plant Facility Regulations. The Board issued a licence to Sable Offshore Energy Inc. (SOEI) on December 23, 1999 to operate and maintain a natural gas liquids (NGL) pipeline from the SOEI gas plant at Goldboro, Guysborough County to the SOEI fractionation plant at Point Tupper, Richmond County. One of the terms of the Licence is that the line be operated in accordance with the restrictions and conditions recommended by the then Certifying Authority, Lloyd's Register. Other licences issued in 1999 and 2000 to SOEI were for the Subsea Pipeline, Goldboro Gas Plant and the Natural Gas Liquids Line. Following a Request for Proposals, the Board retained the services of Energy Consultants International (ECI) of Winnipeg, Manitoba as its Certifying Authority to monitor and evaluate SOEI's compliance with its NGL license. ECI also acted as the Board's Certifying Authority with respect to the issuance of a permit to construct to Sempra Atlantic Gas and subsequent amendments to the Permit. See below. Pursuant to another RFP issued by the Board, SNC Lavalin Inc. acted as the Board's Certifying Authority with respect to the construction of the SOEI Fractionation Plant. It provided the Board with a report dated November 2000 and certified to the Board in a letter dated December 14, 2000 that the plant was constructed and was being operated in accordance with the Pipeline Act and generally accepted industry standards. As of January 31, 2002, all licences held by SOEI were transferred to ExxonMobil Canada Properties. Present operations are under licences granted by the Board on April 5, 2002. The Gas Distribution Act, the Pipeline Act, together with the other Acts and Regulations referred to herein can be accessed through the "Statutes" and "Rules and Regulations" buttons located on the top of the screen. Also, decisions of the Board can be accessed through the "Decisions" button located on the top of this screen. Decisions
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 The following decisions have been recently released. Older decisions can be found in our Decision Archives. |
 The following are upcoming Public Hearings. |
 The following recently released documents contain information which may be of public interest. |
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