Celebrating 100 Years Est. 1911
Letter from Steve Baker
Hello everyone.
I am very proud to be stepping into the role of president at Union Gas, Canada’s second-largest natural gas utility, as of Jan. 1, 2012. I have spent the past two years working for our parent company, Spectra Energy, in Houston and am very much looking forward to returning to Chatham where I grew up and where my wife and I are raising our family.
The coming years will be exciting ones for the entire natural gas industry, including Union Gas and our 2,200 employees. As Union Gas heads into its second century of service to more than 400 communities across Ontario, I could not imagine a better time to be returning home to lead this great company.
As one of Canada’s leading employers, Union Gas is well positioned to make the most of the many opportunities on the horizon.
The emergence of new and plentiful sources of domestic supply, coupled with projected sustained low prices, mean natural gas will continue to play an important role within North America and more specifically to Ontario’s economic recovery.
Ontario’s ongoing efforts to remove coal from its electricity supply mix, and bring on cleaner and greener sources of energy, means natural gas will continue to play a bigger role on the power generation front – particularly when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing.
We will be there to continue to provide what our customers have come to expect from us: safe, clean, reliable, on-demand service, support for the province’s industries and businesses and a long-term commitment to Ontario’s future through our investments in natural gas infrastructure.
In addition, we will continue to invest in our long-standing partnerships with the many communities across Ontario where we live and work in an effort to make them stronger and even more vibrant.
We’ll also continue to be leaders in – and passionate advocates for – employee and public safety. Much progress has been made this year on proposed One Call legislation, which would make it mandatory for all utility asset owners and excavators in this province to use a single call system to locate all underground utility lines before digging. A mandatory one call system would be an important step for Ontario, helping to improve public safety and increase efficiencies, which will ultimately save taxpayers and companies time and money. We will continue to speak up for this significant proposed legislation.
Lastly, I am very proud to be part of a company that celebrated its Centennial year with a second consecutive year on the list of Canada’s Top 100 Employers. I look forward to continuing this company’s strong focus on attracting, retaining and developing dedicated and skilled employees who will continue to serve our almost 1.4 million customers into our next century.
Steve Baker