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Dollars & Sense Guest Contributor 43 | Thursday, September 17, 2015 | OAKVILLE BEAVER | www.insideHALTON.com ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD NOTICE TO CUSTOMERS OF UNION GAS LIMITED Union Gas Limited has applied for approval to expand natural gas service to certain rural and remote communities in Ontario and for certain exemptions to meet revenue recovery requirements that apply to pipeline projects. Learn more. Have your say. Union Gas Limited has identified 30 pipeline projects that would connect 34 rural and remote communities in Ontario to natural gas. The total cost of these projects is approximately $150 million. Gas distributors are normally required by the Ontario Energy Board to meet certain financial viability tests (E.B.O. 188) before one or a group of pipeline projects is built. In general, these tests relate to balancing the costs of a project with the revenues that the project is expected to generate over time. Union Gas Limited has asked for exemptions from some of these tests because the proposed projects in its current application would not otherwise meet the financial viability tests. Union Gas Limited has also proposed a number of mechanisms to recover the costs of its proposed projects. One mechanism is to have existing Union Gas Limited customers pay a portion of the costs to connect new customers. If approved, the impact on a current residential customer's bill for the 30 pipeline projects proposed in Union Gas Limited's application would range from $0.20 to $5.65 per year. Other customers, including businesses, may also be affected. If the Ontario Energy Board allows Union Gas Limited to charge existing customers for a portion of the costs to connect new customers, Union Gas Limited says it will also charge existing customers for future natural gas community expansion projects in rural and remote communities which do not meet the financial viability tests without further Ontario Energy Board approval. Union Gas Limited says that it will limit the rate impact on a current residential customer's bill to a maximum of $24 per year for all current and future community expansion projects that it will complete. In this application, Union Gas Limited has also identified five specific communities to which it proposes to provide natural gas service: 1) Milverton 2) Prince Township 3) Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Lambton Shores 4) Walpole Island First Nation 5) Delaware Nation of Moraviantown Of these, Ontario Energy Board approval is required to construct the pipelines in Milverton, Prince Township and Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Lambton Shores. For more information on these leave to construct applications, please visit ontarioenergyboard.ca/LTC. THE ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD IS HOLDING A PUBLIC HEARING The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) will hold a public hearing to consider the application filed by Union Gas. We will question Union Gas on the case. We will also hear arguments from individuals and from groups that represent the customers of Union Gas and those that would be receiving new service under the proposals in the application. At the end of this hearing, the OEB will decide: 1. Whether to approve the changes to the OEB financial viability tests that Union Gas has requested in the application. 2. Whether to allow one or more of the cost recovery mechanisms for the projects that Union Gas has proposed in the application. 3. Whether to grant leave to construct approval for the projects in Milverton, Prince Township and Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation and Lambton Shores. The OEB is an independent and impartial public agency. We make decisions that serve the public interest. Our goal is to promote a financially viable and efficient energy sector that provides you with reliable energy services at a reasonable cost. BE INFORMED AND HAVE YOUR SAY You have the right to information regarding this application and to be involved in the process. · You can review the application filed by Union Gas on the OEB's website now. · You can file a letter with your comments, which will be considered during the hearing. · You can become an active participant (called an intervenor). Apply by September 28, 2015 or the hearing will go ahead without you and you will not receive any further notice of the proceeding. · At the end of the process, you can review the OEB's decision and its reasons on our website. LEARN MORE Our file number for this case is EB-2015-0179. To learn more about this hearing, find instructions on how to file letters or become an intervenor, or to access any document related to this case, please select the file number EB-2015-0179 from the list on the OEB website: ontarioenergyboard.ca/notice. You can also phone our Consumer Relations Centre at 1-877-632-2727 with any questions. ORAL VS. WRITTEN HEARINGS There are two types of OEB hearings ­ oral and written. The OEB will determine at a later date whether to proceed by way of a written or oral hearing. If you think an oral hearing is needed, you can write to the OEB to explain why by September 28, 2015. PRIVACY If you write a letter of comment, your name and the content of your letter will be put on the public record and the OEB website. However, your personal telephone number, home address and e-mail address will be removed. If you are a business, all your information will remain public. If you apply to become an intervenor, all information will be public. This hearing will be held under sections 36 and 90 of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, S.O. 1998 c.15 (Schedule B). Peter Watson S hould you borrow to invest? Leverage can have rewards; however, there is risk. There has been a lot of discussion on borrowing. Mostly about how Canadians are overextended and there have been warnings from the federal government encouraging borrowers to pay down the debt. This has been going for many years because since interest rates plummeted years ago, Canadians have been borrowing more than ever. Most often they borrow to consume goods or services that are often considered to be extras. Very little of the borrowing conversation is related to borrowing to invest. That is not the case within the nancial services industry. There is a concern some nancial advisers encourage leverage so investment products can be sold. As a result, there are built-in guidelines to attempt to discourage borrowing to invest. Leverage acts as a catalyst. It accentuates investment results. If you borrow $100,000 and the market goes up by 10 per cent, then you have just pro ted by $10,000. Sounds simple and very inviting. Unfortunately, sometimes the markets decline in value and your $100,000 investment declines to $90,000, which means you are out of pocket $10,000. Gains are ne, but losses have to be repaid. That can be a big problem, particularly for an unsophisticated investor who is not fully prepared for the potential loss that comes with borrowing. Many investors who have borrowed to invest will panic when the market declines. Quite often this means they will sell the investments and then be stuck with debt that has to be paid back. Investors have a terrible track record when it comes to investing. History shows that many investors wait until the market appreciates in value before they have the con dence to invest. Then at the rst sign of a market downturn they sell at a loss. This happens all the time. Studies in both Canada and the U.S. have shown how poorly investors do against the underlying market they invest in. The cause is market timing and most people get it wrong. If the same people who panic when the market declines have increased their investment portfolio with leverage, they are more likely to panic. They will likely sell their investments at a loss. There have been articles about speci c individuals who have borrowed to invest. Often, they invest in speci c stocks, which in my opinion is absolutely crazy. There is greater certainty by investing in a very well-diversi ed investment portfolio. Over the long term, markets have historically always increased in value. The sad reality of owning speci c stocks is sometimes these stocks decline signi cantly in value and never regain those losses. Borrowing to invest can be a useful strategy; however, it is not for everyone. We strongly encourage all investors who have borrowed to invest to reconsider their actions and ensure it is in their best interest. -- Submitted by Peter Watson, MBA, CFP , R.F .P ., CIM, FCSI., Certi ed Financial Planner It's risky to borrow when investing Ontario Energy Commission de l'énergie Board de l'Ontario