BILL 23

An Act Respecting Renewable Gas and Hydrogen

His Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick, enacts as follows:

Gas Distribution Act, 1999

1( 1) Section 1 of the Gas Distribution Act, 1999, chapter G-2.11 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 1999, is amended

(a)  by repealing the definition “gas” and substituting the following:

“gas” means any hydrocarbon or mixture of hydrocarbons that, at a temperature of 15 °C and an absolute pressure of 101.325 kPa, is in a gaseous state, and includes any renewable gas or hydrogen; (gaz)

(b)  in the definition “general franchise” by striking out “and local gas producer franchises” and substituting “, local gas producer franchises and renewable gas or hydrogen franchises”;

(c)  in the definition “gas distributor” by striking out “or a local gas producer franchise” and substituting “, a local gas producer franchise or a renewable gas or hydrogen franchise”;

(d)  in paragraph (a) of the definition “well” by striking out “from which any oil or gas is obtained or obtainable, or made or being made to obtain gas” and substituting “from which any oil or gas is obtained or obtainable, other than renewable gas, or made or being made to obtain gas, other than renewable gas”;

(e)  by adding the following definitions in alphabetical order:

“biogas” means a gaseous mixture that is recovered from the anaerobic decomposition of biomass and that consists primarily of methane and carbon dioxide and contains other constituents that prevent it from meeting the standard for injection into the nearest pipeline; (biogas)

“biomass” means the biodegradable fraction of products, waste and residues of a biological origin, including plant and animal substances, originating from agriculture, forestry and other industries, such as fishing and aquaculture, as well as the fraction of waste, including industrial and municipal waste, of a biological origin; (biomasse)

“renewable gas” means gas that meets the standard for injection into the closest pipeline and that is either synthetic gas derived from biomass or gas derived from the processing of biogas; (gaz renouvelable)

“renewable gas or hydrogen franchise” means a franchise granted under this Act in accordance with subsection 6.01(1); (concession de gaz renouvelable ou d’hydrogène)

“renewable gas infrastructure” means all buildings, equipment and pipelines used for the production, manufacturing, distribution and processing of renewable gas or hydrogen; (infrastructure pour gaz renouvelable)

1( 2) Section 5 of the Act is amended

(a)  in subsection (1.1) by striking out “a local gas producer franchise” and substituting “a local gas producer franchise or a renewable gas or hydrogen franchise”;

(b)  in subsection (2.1) by striking out “a local gas producer franchise” and substituting “a local gas producer franchise, a renewable gas or hydrogen franchise”.

1( 3) The Act is amended by adding after section 6 the following:

Renewable gas or hydrogen franchise

6.01( 1) When a person has submitted an application for a renewable gas or hydrogen franchise to the Board to distribute renewable gas or hydrogen, or both, and offer a customer service within a gas distributor’s general franchise, the Board may authorize the person to do so if it is satisfied that the customers of the gas distributor would not be materially prejudiced by authorizing the person to serve the part of the gas distributor’s general franchise to which the application relates.

6.01( 2) When a person submits an application to connect its pipeline with the gas distribution system of a gas distributor in order to sell renewable gas or hydrogen, or both, either to the gas distributor, to an industrial customer or to a transmission line, the Board may authorize the person to do so if it is satisfied that

(a)  the customers of the gas distributor would not be materially prejudiced by authorizing the person to connect this pipeline with the gas distributor’s gas distribution system, and

(b)  the person can meet the gas distributor’s standards for gas quality and pressure.

1( 4) Subsection 52(5) of the Act is amended

(a)  in paragraph (d) of the English version by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

(b)  in paragraph (e) by striking out the period at the end of the paragraph and substituting “, and”;

(c)  by adding after paragraph (e) the following:

(f)  may recognize or consider any financing or costs incurred by the general franchise holder as part of the regulated assets of the general franchise holder in relation to the amounts that the general franchise holder has invested in the development, construction and maintenance of renewable gas infrastructure.

Pipeline Act, 2005

2( 1) Section 1 of the Pipeline Act, 2005, chapter P-8.5 of the Acts of New Brunswick, 2005, is amended

(a)  in the definition “transmission line” by striking out “as defined in the National Energy Board Act (Canada)” and substituting “as defined in the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (Canada)”;

(b)  in the definition “gas”

( i) in paragraph (b) of the English version by striking out “and” at the end of the paragraph;

( ii) in paragraph (c) by striking out the period at the end of the paragraph and substituting a comma;

( iii) by adding after paragraph (c) the following:

(d)  renewable gas as defined in the Gas Distribution Act, 1999, and

(e)  hydrogen.

(c)  in the definition “gas distribution system” by striking out “all or part of a natural gas pipeline, up to and including the meter, that is used to distribute natural gas” and substituting “all or part of a gas pipeline, up to and including the meter, that is used to distribute gas”.

2( 2) Section 2 of the Act is amended

(a)  in paragraph (b) by striking out “by the National Energy Board under the National Energy Board Act (Canada)” and substituting “by the Canadian Energy Regulator under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (Canada)”;

(b)  in paragraph (d) by striking out “natural gas” and substituting “gas”.

2( 3) Paragraph 7(c) of the English version of the Act by striking out “natural gas” and substituting “gas”.