Heather Wright/The Independent

Warwick politicians want to be the first in line when the province starts approving the next round of natural gas pipelines.

The municipality has been lobbying for natural gas in the village of Warwick since 2019. At that time, the local MPP and Infrastructure Minister, Monte McNaughton launched a program to bring natural gas to small communities in Warwick. 

But when the first round of projects was announced, Warwick was left off the list. 

It also didn’t make the cut for a project during the next two rounds of funding.

Trevor Jarrett, Treasurer/Deputy CAO of Warwick Township, says the next round of funding for the natural gas expansion program will open soon. “You have to have, basically, an expression of interest,” he told councillors Monday.

“We believe we have the tools in place to work with Enbridge…to move forward,” Jarrett added.

The municipal politicians have also been talking with provincial officials, most recently at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in mid-August.

Mayor Todd Case spoke to the Associate Minister of Energy about Warwick’s plan.

“I don’t know how many meetings it’s been to date that we’ve had with them, but I would say that meeting seemed to be somewhat promising,” Case told council. “We’re listened to. They’re trying to find a way of making it work.”

Case said they also had the experts there to back them up.

“We also had Enbridge join us as a partner and recognizing we have a very good business plan as a municipality to bring natural gas to our community.”

Council passed a motion stating it “endorses access to natural gas as an option to other energy solutions to advance the Township of Warwick’s housing, employment lands, and economic development objectives.

Warwick will also voice its desire for natural gas in the area on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, where the provincial government is looking for input to make the program better.