We submitted an application to the National Energy Board (NEB) under section 52 of the National Energy Board Act in Q2 2018. On August 28, 2019, the Canadian Energy Regulator Act took effect and the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) was created. The NGTL System and the Project are regulated by the CER, and for more information on our application and other regulatory filings please follow the links provided to our regulator’s website.

For over 65 years, the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) System has safely and reliably received, gathered, transported and delivered natural gas produced from Alberta and northeast British Columbia. That legacy continues today and into the future with additional connections being built to bring natural gas from the prolific Western Canada Sedimentary Basin to consumers across North America.

Natural gas producers have asked NGTL to increase transportation service on our existing natural gas pipeline system to help move their product to the markets we serve. To address this need, we plan to construct and operate 344 kilometres (km) of 48-inch diameter pipeline, a control valve and three 30-megawatt compressor station unit additions. These assets will all be located throughout western Alberta on the NGTL System as part of the 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project (Project).

We invite you to explore the virtual open house and click through the interactive map and links for more information on the project components. Please use the feedback forms and contact information provided to submit any questions or feedback you might have.

Interactive project map

 
TC Energy provides information beginning at the early stages of project development including prospecting, continuing throughout the life of assets. The information provided is intended to give people the opportunity for meaningful input and inform stakeholders of our proposed activities. Please be aware that as planning progresses, new information sometimes becomes available and details may change from the time of publication. Please contact TC Energy with any questions. TC Energy considers the language needs of those persons and communities potentially interested in its projects, and aims to identify and use where appropriate, both French and English during engagement activities in Canada in order to ensure their effectiveness.

Les membres de la communauté qui ont des questions au sujet de nos actifs ou de nos projets sont invités à nous joindre au: rel_communautaires@tcenergy.com

TC Energy operates the NOVA Gas Transmission Ltd. (NGTL) System, a network of over 24,500 kilometres of pipelines operating in Alberta and British Columbia that connects sweet, dry natural gas produced from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) to domestic and export markets across North America. NGTL pipelines are built and operated within a world-class regulatory environment and we are proud to be an industry leader in safety, reliability and community engagement innovations.

The NGTL System currently has a $9.9 billion infrastructure program underway to add 3.5Bcf/d of incremental delivery capacity between 2020 to 2024. This additional capacity will help meet the growing need for natural gas in North American and global markets, including the potential to supply LNG export facilities in Canada.

At TC Energy, our purpose is to deliver the energy people rely on every day. Safely. Reliably. Collaboratively. With Integrity. For over 65 years, the NGTL system has safely and reliably received, gathered, transported and delivered natural gas produced from Alberta and northeast British Columbia. That legacy continues today and into the future with connections like the 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project.

TC Energy places importance on building and maintaining relationships with contractors, suppliers and vendors. We rely on these partnerships to support our day-to-day operations. We are also committed to providing the tools and resources contractors, suppliers and vendors need to support our business objectives and our core values of safety, integrity, responsibility and collaboration.

The 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project is a substantial $2.93 billion capital program that will create opportunities for skilled workers in local communities during construction. Our focus is on connecting early with communities, business groups, and Indigenous business owners to maximize the benefits of construction at a local level.

NGTL will be sharing information about our prime contractors, once selected. We will be updating this page with further information as we progress our construction planning. Updates can also be found about the status of the Project on 2021ngtl.com.

Contracting opportunities

We have created a dedicated website and vendor registration portal for businesses to find information and register their interest in working with us on our projects. We will collect and share this information with our prime contractors to consider during the procurement and subcontracting process.

We will be working with multiple prime contractors given the geography of the Project’s footprint. Prime contractors are employing most of the Project workforce directly. Please note that the opportunities made available by each prime contractor will vary according to need.

Below you will find contact information for each of our construction partners if you’d like to reach out to them directly for employment and subcontracting information.

Working with each prime contractor, we will be tracking and reporting our regional spend on the Project so that communities see the economic benefits being realized in local communities.

What to expect during construction

TC Energy follows best construction practices to ensure our pipeline and facility work meets or exceeds industry and regulatory standards for safety and reliable operation.

During construction, we will undertake a number of activities to prepare our work sites. One of our first activities in the field will be the removal of vegetation, including timber brush and woody debris to open access to the construction area. There will be heavy equipment on site for use in earth-moving, excavation material handling/hauling, welding and testing. Equipment may include graders, bulldozers, backhoes, bucket wheel trenchers for pipeline sections, welding equipment, portable cranes and sideboom cranes.

Our crews will be utilizing a mixture of commercial and local accommodation options in communities, as well as a mix of open and purpose-built temporary workforce accommodation facilities. The decision on where to house crews depends on a number of factors including distance to the closest town, the availability of accommodation options locally, the safety of the crew, and feedback from communities. NGTL has filed a Workforce Temporary Accommodations Environmental and Socio-Economic Protection Plan with the CER for this Project.

You may notice an increase in traffic flow in and around the area, the majority of which will be completed during daylight hours. The traffic will involve movement of equipment, materials and workers. Once construction is completed, there will be minimal traffic associated with ongoing operations and maintenance. Construction activities typically generate a temporary increase in noise. TC Energy adheres to all applicable codes, standards and regulations on noise throughout construction and the operations of the project.

We have collected and analyzed site-specific environmental and socio-economic information to understand the effects of this project on the environment and communities. Strict adherence to construction plans and commitments in our Environmental Protection Plan (EPP) will ensure that the effects of construction activities on the community and the environment are minimized. For pipeline construction, once activities have been completed, the land surface will be reclaimed to an equivalent land capability.

Our construction and operations will comply with all safety and environmental guidelines and regulations. We have developed an Emergency Response Plan for our assets that will be activated in the unlikely event of an emergency. We invite you to visit the safety section of our open house page for more specific information on our safety planning.

For a start-to-finish overview of our project process, including how we manage assets through their entire lifecycle, please check out our Life Cycle of a Pipeline page.

Gas pipeline construction

We connect people with energy. Importantly, we also connect with people. When we propose a project, we think locally about the communities we’re connecting with and their potential needs. We are committed to listening to our neighbours and working with our stakeholders to develop better project plans and create long-term opportunities and economic benefits in the communities where we operate.

Reaching out early and often in the development of a project allows us collect feedback and helps us shape our plans. We seek two-way communication with communities, business groups, elected officials, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to receive questions, ideas, and potential concerns about our proposed activities. As our project plans develop, we keep communities informed of changes that might affect them.

In addition to project engagement on matters like routing and how we manage our environmental footprint, we also like to support the causes that communities care about by:

• Investing in community causes through our Build Strong community giving program
• Proactively engaging the business community and chambers of commerce near the project footprint
• Connecting with the local vendors and businesses interested in working with us
• Tracking and reporting our regional economic impacts on a quarterly basis with municipalities and counties
• Engaging with first responders to share our emergency response plans
• Collaborating with other industries and stakeholders in forums like synergy groups to understand and address cumulative effects of development in communities

Throughout construction of the project, we will continue to provide updated information on our progress. If you’d like to be included on our distribution list, let us know.

Being a good neighbour means being a safe neighbour, which is why safety considerations factor into everything we do. We are committed to ensuring that our pipelines and facilities operate safely every day and that the health and safety of people are protected in the unlikely event of an incident involving our assets. 24 hours per day, 365 days a year, our Operations Control Centres manage some of the world’s most sophisticated pipeline monitoring technology.

For the 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project, all construction sites will have a site-specific safety plan and an environmental protection plan, as well an emergency response plan for the safe commissioning and operation of the assets. The design of these plans is informed by our engagement with Indigenous groups, stakeholders, communities and landowners to ensure that the unique needs of every location along the Project footprint are understood. All emergency response plans for our operating pipelines are available on our website.

At TC Energy, safety extends beyond the jobsite. One of our initiatives, our Safety 24/7 Program, encourages a holistic culture of safety with a forum for sharing off-the-job incidents, safety training for extended family, information for home and recreational safety, and tips for protecting the environment.

Pipelines, once constructed, are often not visible at the surface. It’s important to know what’s below. TC Energy has a Public Awareness Program that proactively engages the public, landowners, and Indigenous groups, and encourages everyone to Click Before You Dig. We have also created an easy-to-follow Prezi overview of operating pipeline safety fundamentals.

Safety at TC Energy

TC Energy has a long-standing commitment to protect the environment where we live and work. Our Environment principles of stewardship, protection and performance guide our daily decisions when we design, build and operate energy infrastructure. We're committed to protecting the environment throughout the complete lifecycle of our assets, from business development to project planning and design, through construction and operations to remediation and restoration during the final decommissioning.

Projects can potentially affect soil, water, vegetation, fish and wildlife, archaeological resources, traditional land and resource use, air quality and noise, infrastructure and services, and communities and their economies. As such, we have completed extensive evaluations using high-quality existing data to understand the full extent of how our Project interacts with the environment. This information was considered in our application to the Canada Energy Regulator in our Environmental and Socio-Economic Assessment of potential Project effects, environmental mitigation measures, and the potential significance of predicted residual and cumulative effects.

Field surveys were also used to further develop, refine and re-affirm the mitigation in the Environmental Protection Plan created for the Project.

Much of the 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project is co-located along existing infrastructure to minimize environmental effects. The Project was also designed to protect water quality and fisheries, avoid sensitive features and anticipate, prevent and mitigate potential effects on traditional land and resource use by integrating Traditional Knowledge from potentially affected Indigenous groups.

Water crossing animation

We are committed to building and maintaining positive relationships with landowners throughout the life of our assets. Our approach to engagement with people and groups who may be affected by our activities is rooted in our core values of safety, integrity, responsibility and collaboration, and our guiding principles for working with landowners.

In all interactions with landowners we are committed to being:

• Respectful and trustworthy
• Honest
• Fair
• Accountable
• Professional
• Responsible for the protection of your private information

Our guiding principles are aligned with TC Energy’s stakeholder engagement commitment statement and rooted in our core values of safety, responsibility, collaboration and integrity.

Interactive project map

Working with landowners

For almost 40 years, TC Energy has been engaging with Indigenous groups. We recognize Indigenous groups as rightsholders who have a distinct relationship to the land.

Building and maintaining relationships with Indigenous groups near our proposed projects and existing facilities is an integral part of TC Energy’s business. TC Energy works with Indigenous communities to identify potential effects of company activities on each community to find mutually satisfactory solutions and benefits. We understand that our business activities such as the 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project have the potential to affect Indigenous groups in tangible ways.

Our Indigenous Relations Team engages early and often with potentially affected Indigenous groups to understand their interests, identify opportunities, respond to issues and concerns, and facilitate participation on our projects. We tailor our engagement approach to be responsive to the unique circumstances of each group. Through active participation in activities like fieldwork and traditional knowledge studies, Indigenous groups support the assessment of a project’s potential effects.

NGTL has also made the following commitments to potentially affected Indigenous groups for the Project:

• Ongoing engagement throughout all phases of the Project
• Engagement on the Caribou Habitat Restoration Offset Measurement Program
• Opportunities for conducting a ceremony prior to construction
• Meet to discuss the Emergency Response Plan and continued review of the Environmental Protection Plan
• Develop and implement an Aboriginal Construction Participation Program (ACPP) during construction
• Continue to review and assess additional Traditional Knowledge as it is made available by Indigenous groups

We also identify and create opportunities that support Indigenous groups through education and training, community legacy, scholarships and engagement with Indigenous contractors and businesses. By working together and ensuring open communication with Indigenous groups, we strive to earn their respect and trust to establish and grow positive long-term relationships.

Business engagement

We contribute to the social and economic well-being of communities that are adjacent to or are potentially impacted by our business. Through engagement, we’re able to ensure communities benefit directly from our projects.

Our Indigenous Relations Business Engagement Team works with Indigenous groups to identify businesses and individuals who are interested in project-related contracting opportunities. We also work to ensure our contractors engage meaningfully with Indigenous businesses. TC Energy understands that we have a role to play in the sustainable economic future of the Indigenous groups we engage, and we are committed to providing business, employment and training opportunities to the Indigenous groups on whose lands we build and operate through all phases of the 2021 NGTL System Expansion Project.

We are willing to meet with any Indigenous group expressing an interest in potential contracting, employment or training opportunities with NGTL to discuss its contracting process and to develop an understanding of the Indigenous group’s capacities.

Our approach to Indigenous relations

We invite you to contact TC Energy with any questions or comments you have about the project:

If you would like further information regarding the Canada Energy Regulator’s approval process, we would be pleased to provide you with information or you can contact the regulator directly: