Homeowners and businesses in rural areas outside Thunder Bay that rely on propane for heat shouldn’t notice any changes this winter as their fuel delivery service transitions to another company, the region’s longtime supplier says.
A Superior Propane spokeswoman said letters were mailed out this week informing customers in areas such as Neebing and Oliver Paipoonge that their fuel is to be delivered by a Barrie company, Sarjeant Fuels.
“We are working with Sarjeant (Fuels) to ensure a smooth transition for customers,” Superior Propane spokeswoman Teresa Crosato said in an email.
“Impacted customers have been mailed a letter which they should receive this week,” Crosato added. “There are no changes for them at this time.”
Superior Propane, a division of Toronto-based Superior Plus, delivers fuel to eight northern Ontario locations, including the Thunder Bay area and remote communities such as Fort Frances, Dryden and Marathon.
In May, Superior Plus agreed to sell its eight northern Ontario operations after the federal Competition Bureau raised concerns about the company having too large a share of the propane market.
The concerns stemmed from Superior Plus’s acquisition of Calgary-based Certarus Ltd., which the bureau believed “would likely result in a substantial lessening of competition for the retail supply of portable heating fuels — propane and natural gas — for industrial customers in northern Ontario.”
The bureau added: “In addition to Superior and Certarus being each other’s closest competitor for the supply of portable heating fuels to industrial customers in northern Ontario, there is a limited number of alternative suppliers, and barriers to entry are high.”
In a statement, the bureau said it was satisfied Superior’s sale of its northern operations “will resolve the competitive issues arising from the (Superior-Certarus) transaction.”
The resolution was made by a consent agreement.
Such an agreement “contains remedial measures meant to address the likely anti-competitive effects of a merger (and) has the force and effect of a court order once it is registered with the (federal) Competition Tribunal,” the bureau said.
Propane, which is unregulated in Ontario, is more expensive than natural gas, but is widely used in northwestern Ontario communities that don’t have access to the natural-gas pipeline.
Propane users, such as Conmee Mayor Sheila Maxwell, were irked last month when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau lifted the federal carbon tax off home-heating oil, but left it on propane.
The cost of home-heating oil has gone through the roof this year, particularly in Atlantic Canada.
Carl Clutchey, Local Journalism Initiative, The Chronicle-Journal. The LJI is a federally funded program.
