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Other Gas Distribution
Noverco
Through its 32% interest in Noverco Inc., Enbridge participates in gas distribution
and transmission in Quebec and the northeast United States. In August 1997,
Enbridge purchased preference shares of Noverco Inc. for $181.4 million
and 32% of Noverco's common shares for $151.0 million. Noverco is a holding
company which has, as its principal asset, a 71% interest in Gaz
Métropolitain and Company, Limited Partnership,
which is engaged in natural gas distribution in Quebec and Vermont, and
which also holds a 50% interest in TQM Pipeline & Company, Limited Partnership,
which owns and operates a pipeline transporting natural gas in Quebec.
Capital Infragas Limited Partnership and Gaz de France are the other principal shareholders of Noverco, and Noverco also holds a 10% reciprocal interest in Enbridge.
Enbridge New Brunswick
In September 1999, Enbridge Gas New
Brunswick was awarded a 20-year renewable franchise to develop a natural
gas distribution system for the province of New Brunswick. Construction began in August 2000
with first gas deliveries to customers occurring in March 2001. The company
plans to service up to 25 communities (subject to the expansion of the M&NP
system to the northeast and northwest). The project is of strategic importance
because it provides Enbridge with a presence in Atlantic Canada, which is
becoming an important new energy region in North America. Enbridge Gas New
Brunswick is regulated by the New Brunswick Board of Commissioners of Public
Utilities. Enbridge owns 70% of, and operates, Enbridge Gas New Brunswick.
Inuvik Gas
Enbridge also has an approximately 33% interest in Inuvik Gas Ltd., the first
commercial development of natural gas in the Mackenzie Delta. The project
began distributing gas to the town of Inuvik, N.W.T., in 1999. The project,
although small, augments Enbridge's experience with construction of pipelines
in permafrost, and provides a successful model for cooperation with local
interests in the development of northern energy delivery infrastructure.
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