With the looming merger of Union Gas and Enbridge Gas Distribution, some changes are coming to the local office.
President Steve Baker will be leaving the organization after 29 years with Union Gas, Officials say he will remain with the company for the next few months to provide support through the transition period.
Taking his place as leader of the combined utility will be Cynthia Hansen, the current Executive Vice President for Enbridge Utilities and Power Operations, based in Toronto.
However, spokesperson Andrea Stass wants to quell any rumours about the company leaving Chatham-Kent.
“Union Gas has long been a supportive partner of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, and that’s not going to change,” Stass explains. “There will be some workforce changes, there’s no doubt about that, however we’re going to manage those, as we have in the past, through existing vacancies and retirements.”
This week’s changes are the first phase of transition for the company’s executive to prepare for the Jan. 1, 2019 amalgamation date.
“We gave a commitment to the Municipality of of Chatham-Kent in our application to the Ontario Energy Board to merge to continue to maintain a significant presence in the area,” Stass says. “We’ve recently invested $17-million in our Bloomfield Road facility, we’re just completing a multi-million dollar project to build a new powerhouse at head office, we’re going to remain committed to this community.”
