ENBRIDGE 2000 ANNU AL REPORT 10 Toronto Montreal Ottawa Enbridge Consumers Gas Noverco Inc. Enbridge Gas New Brunswick Gas Distribution Cornwall Electric Electric Power Distribution ENERGY DISTRIBUTION Enbridge Consumers Gas Noverco NORTHERN AND EAST COAST PIPELINES: AN OPPORTUNITY Enbridge believes strong North American demand will drive infrastructure development to connect new natural gas basins such as those in the North and the East Coast offshore. Enbridge views both areas as significant long-term opportunities. There are a number of potential northern pipeline routes involving transportation of Alaskan gas from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, and Canadian gas from the Mackenzie Delta in the Northwest Territories. Most observers predict that it will take about seven years to put a northern pipeline in place, but producers are already studying their options for transporting  gas south. Enbridge believes it will be the producers who will determine the timing and routing for any projects. Enbridge  sees its role as a service provider to the producers and is working with them in a supportive and collaborative manner. Enbridge has some significant and unique advantages for northern development. It is the only Canadian pipeline  company with regulatory, design, construction and operating experience in the North and in discontinuous permafrost. On the East Coast, Enbridge and Gaz Métropolitain and Company, Limited Partnership have proposed a pipeline to connect natural gas from offshore Nova Scotia to the existing Canadian gas transmission grid in Quebec. Enbridge and Gaz Métropolitain would build a new 260-kilometre (160-mile) pipeline in Quebec called the Cartier Pipeline, which could be in service by late 2004. It would be connected to  offshore Nova Scotia gas supplies by another new pipeline, to be constructed in New Brunswick, and would provide access to natural gas for customers in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Through its 32% interest in Noverco Inc., Enbridge participates in gas distribution and transmission in Quebec and the northeast United States. Noverco is a holding company that holds a 77% Enbridge Consumers Gas has been adding new customers at the rate of over 50,000 per year, and currently serves approximately 1.5 million customers. The Company delivered 421 billion cubic feet of gas in 2000, meeting peak day demand of over 3 billion cubic feet. The Company owns and operates approximately 30,000 kilometres (18,000 miles) of gas distribution mains, as well as the service pipes required to transfer gas from mains to meters in customers’ homes and businesses. Enbridge also operates storage facilities with capacity for almost 100 billion cubic feet of gas. Enbridge Consumers Gas is Canada’s largest natural gas distribution company, delivering gas to customers in central  and eastern Ontario, including Toronto, Ottawa, the Niagara Peninsula, and other Ontario communities. Through subsidiaries and affiliates, Enbridge Consumers Gas also serves customers  in parts of Quebec and New York State. The Energy Distribution business segment includes Enbridge’s natural gas distribution businesses, the Company’s investment in Noverco Inc. and electrical power distribution in Cornwall, Ontario.