Today, welcome to the Enbridge Gas Q4 customer webinar. Hopefully by now, I've been around enough that I met the majority of you watching this. For those of you that don't know, my name is Paul Dean, and I am the Manager of the Storage and Transportation Sales Group. Our goal with these webinars is to provide you with a quick update on relevant topics, but in a format that allows you to view at your convenience. We hope that you find today's information beneficial, and as always, we welcome any feedback you have regarding this or any other topic. I'll now go over the agenda for today's session. Consistent with Enbridge's values, we will start today's meeting with a safety moment. We'll move on to Clancy O'Hara, who will provide you with a winter operations outlook.
Jennifer Woodall will follow with a rates and services rebasing update that was recently filed with the Ontario Energy Board. Following that, we have Andrea Seguin, who will give us an update on customer experience actions that we're taking, and then follow up with some closing remarks. With that, we'll move into the safety message. Did you know that you can use your iPhone like a Medical ID bracelet? When you fill in the Medical ID info on the iPhone Health app, your emergency details will be available to first responders without the need to unlock the phone, including the ability to call out directly to your emergency contact. The information that gets included in your Medical ID section on the Health app is things like your blood type, any allergies you may have, your emergency contact information, et cetera.
It's very important that you go into your Health app and fill this information out, that way it's available to those that are looking to help you in case of an emergency. Interestingly enough, this has actually been used within the Enbridge system as a coworker has helped out one of their own, and we're able to provide the information to the medical professionals that helped out their coworker. How you get to the Medical ID info on a locked iPhone is if it's an iPhone 8 or earlier, you press the Home button, then you click on the Emergency section in the bottom left. Once you get into the emergency area, Medical ID, if it's been set up, will show up in the bottom left. You click on that, all the information is available.
On an iPhone X, XS, XR or iPhone 11 or higher, you would hold the power and the up volume key till the screen opens up and Medical ID would show up, and you swipe over on that, and then it's available to the medical professionals to help you out. It's important that you set this up on an iPhone in the Health app so that it's available to everybody. It's an interesting feature that I didn't realize was available until I saw that it was being in use within Enbridge. With that, I'm now gonna turn it over to Clancy O'Hara, the Director, Gas Control and Management, to give us an update on the winter operations.
Thanks, Paul. Fall operations have been dominated by managing through large swings in weather while coordinating maintenance and construction outages to ready the system for this winter. Our first slide, this graph displays tracking of our overall storage inventory. Black line is our current year, comparing it with the gray dash line of last year, while the gold line is our 5-year average of activity. Yellow highlighted areas are periods of when the yellow light for interruptible injections management was turned on. This fall, there have been 3 separate occasions for this to happen. The storage injection light first turned yellow on August 31st and back to green on October 17th.
The August 31st date, which was early compared to what we experienced in 2021, was really driven a lot by outages at both our Dawn and Corunna compressor stations, which changed the fill pattern such that operations couldn't handle all the requests that were coming in at the very end of August. Extremely mild week of the 1st week in November caused the light to go yellow again on November 3rd and return to green on November 14th. A 3rd period of yellow light just recently started after the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend. Once again, we experienced a span of mild weather in combination with a vacation weekend for everyone. For context, activity switched 3 PJs in direction.
On November 20th, prior to that weekend, we were withdrawing 1.8 PJs of gas, and then on the 26th, we were on 1.1 PJs of injections. With limited injection capability and a continued mild weather outlook, the light was needed to manage injections. Overall, for an inventory, our peak occurred on November 11th at 96%, whereas right now, as of including gas through November 30th, we're at 93%. For the next slide. In regards to reviewing the weather and trying to outline how October and November looked, this chart of October and November displays the high variability in weather we experienced between the budget normal for the whole of Ontario compared to the actual HDVs. Normal for the month of October was 271 heating degree days. Month ended actuals at 9% warmer.
Normal for the month of November was budgeted at 455 HDVs. The actual in the end was 11% warmer for the month. We've highlighted that the circle date of November 5th, which actually was a zero degree day, and that's rather warm for the whole province as a whole. Moving on to the next slide, to provide an outlook towards the remainder of what we see so far, and I'll say so far, for the winter. This is looking at the overall winter for budgeted versus what we're forecasting to date. As you can see right now for overall, we are looking at just mainly at budget, so no real cold showing right now. It's showing the November that was overall 11% warmer and December slightly warmer as well.
Right now, currently, we are showing a forecast of 7% colder in January. As another third party, you know, another look at weather, there can always be some variabilities and debate on what we can see. On this next slide, we've got from two other sources. In both of these charts, the colors represent the likelihood of the temperature being warmer or colder than normal for the three-month period of December, January and February. The chart on the left is from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and this is showing no region in the U.S. is likely to be colder than the 30-year normal. Equally, on the right, from Environment Canada, the eastern half of the country is expected to be warmer, while there is some expected to be some cold in the west.
I'd like to thank you for your time, and I would like to now turn things over to Jennifer Woodall. Jen.
Thank you, Clancy. I'm Jennifer Woodall. I work in our Storage and Transportation Sales group, and I'm going to be providing a rates and service rebasing update. First off, I just want to provide a bit of background, and then I'll show you where we are currently with our rebasing application. Each legacy company last filed a cost of service application with implementation in 2013. The evidence was filed, and the proceeding took place in 2011 through 2012. This was followed by a separate application for each legacy company for an incentive rate mechanism or IRM for the period of 2014 to 2018. Prior to the Spectra and Enbridge merger, the expectation was that each legacy company would file cost of service applications combined with an incentive rate mechanism, with implementation starting in 2019 for a period of time.
Following the Enbridge and Spectra merger, the legacy companies applied to amalgamate with an effective date of January 1, 2019, under the Ontario Energy Board's Merger, Amalgamation, Acquisition and Divestiture Policy, also known as our MAAD application. With the approval to amalgamate the companies to create Enbridge Gas Inc, we also received approval to set rates for the 2019 to 2023 period using a price cap rate mechanism. This is a formulaic adjustment applied to rates in each year, with an allowance to request incremental funding for capital expenditures beyond a threshold. This price cap increases rates by inflation, less a stretch factor of 0.3%.
Enbridge Gas has now filed its application with the Ontario Energy Board to determine the fair and reasonable rates that Enbridge Gas will charge customers in 2024 and proposing an incentive regulation structure very similar to the one used to set the utility rates from 2019 to 2023. We're also proposing to align, simplify and enhance our rates and services to meet customer needs and proposing to phase in those rate design changes to allow time to implement the system changes after the OEB approval. On the next couple of slides, I'll talk a little more about our service harmonization. Our objectives behind service harmonization are threefold. One, to develop combined services that continue to address the needs of our customers. Two, to provide incremental flexibility for customers to meet their requirements where possible. Three, to simplify services where possible. The next slide provides a little more context.
The service harmonization proposal included in the application meet the diverse needs of our customers, provides incremental flexibility and simplifies services where practical. The application will include a proposal for the harmonization of distribution services, Direct Purchase services, and ex-franchise services. The proposal for general service customers are generally consistent between EDD and union rate zones. Also completed through the service harmonization review was a set of consistent terminology that will be used for services going forward. The harmonization of ex-franchise services was somewhat limited because there was no like services offered in both EDD and union rate zones. For the most part, ex-franchise service proposal focused on the harmonization of services for both conventional and RNG producers and the consolidation of certain services into one rate schedule with harmonized terms and conditions of service.
Through the review of all service offerings, Enbridge Gas identified services that are no longer needed or consistent with the harmonization proposals. These services will be proposed for elimination through the application. The timing of service harmonization is planned for April 1, 2026. This timing is the minimum amount of time necessary following a decision on the harmonization planned by the OEB to implement changes to internal and customer-facing business applications, processes, and to provide notices to customers, where there will be changes to their services. In some cases, changes are proposed for implementation as soon as January 1, 2024, if they do not require system changes. The service harmonization proposal were shaped by feedback received from customers through the customer engagement process. The next slide has a table to summarize the rate card harmonization plan included in our proposal.
The rate card harmonization simplifies the number of rate classes from the existing 42 rate classes across the three rate zones to 15 harmonized rate classes in one rate zone. The harmonized rate classes all start with the letter E that help identify harmonized rate classes from the current classes, and also includes duplication of certain rate schedule numbers across rate zones such as one and 100 in both EDD and Union North Rate zones. Enbridge Gas is proposing to harmonize the ex-franchise services as shown here. There will be no substantial changes to the terms and current services as a result of our harmonization plan.
For the transportation services, Enbridge Gas is proposing to combine the current ex-franchise transportation service, services offered under Rate 331 and 332 in the EDD rate zones and Rate M12, C1, and the Dawn-Parkway component of Rate M12 in the Union Rate zones into one transportation service offered under the proposed harmonized rate class, Rate E70. This consolidation will result in one standard contract, one set of general terms and conditions, and one rate schedule to provide the transportation service. Next, for producer services, Enbridge Gas is proposing to combine its existing producer services for the EDD and Union Rate zones into one service offered under Proposal Rate E80, and to continue to offer existing long-term RNG producers services under Rate E82 on a limited basis.
The proposed harmonized producer service, the producer service will provide one common injection service under Rate E80 for all new producers, regardless of location on the Enbridge Gas system or production type. Enbridge Gas will continue to offer RNG producer service under Rate E82 on a limited basis to its existing customers that have signed long-term agreements under Rate 401. I'll highlight the proposal for our ex-franchise wholesale service. Enbridge Gas is proposing to expand the applicability of the current ex-franchise wholesale transportation service offered under Rate M17 to new gas distributors in all service areas within Enbridge Gas franchise area under the proposed Rate E60. As part of the service, Enbridge Gas is proposing to provide balancing services for distributors based on whether they directly connect to Enbridge Gas's transmission or distribution system.
Distributors who directly connect with Enbridge Gas's transmission system will continue to balance using an LBA. Those who are not directly connected to the transmission system will manage their daily imbalances using an unbundled balancing service, also known as UBS. Lastly, I'll mention quickly our storage pool transportation service. Enbridge currently offers this service under Rate M16. We are proposing to change the name to Rate E72, there's no changes being proposed for that service. The next slide shows where you can find more information about our application. That wraps up my regulatory update. I hope you found the information helpful. I know there was a lot of information on those slides, never hesitate to reach out to your rep here if you have any questions at all.
With that being said, I will pass the floor over to Andrea Seguin to talk to you about our customer experience.
Thanks, Jen. I am Andrea Seguin, Director of S&P Sales. Today I just wanted to take a few minutes to talk to you guys about what we're doing to make sure that we're providing the best possible service for our customers. You may have noticed in the last year or so, in an effort to understand your needs, we have been soliciting feedback through services, stakeholder engagement, and general conversations. While most of the feedback was positive, we do know that there are some areas where we can improve. Some of what we heard was, you want us to communicate regularly and provide information that's relevant to you. You want your reps to be knowledgeable and be able to provide accurate information. You want to have ready access to your reps, and they should be able to answer any questions that you have right away.
You want your reps to have cross-functional knowledge. You also want consistency with reps, so you don't wanna have to jump through hoops to find out who to speak to. You appreciate the ongoing networking between schedulers and our sales reps and yourselves. You also want us to have a stronger understanding of what your needs are. If we flip to the next slide. From the feedback, we are able to categorize our areas of improvement into three main buckets. Accuracy and communication, responsiveness and availability, and just continuing to build on strong relationships that we already have with you. To address some of these opportunities this year, we did implement a number of quick wins. They were just quick wins.
Nothing was rocket science or major, but hopefully they've made a difference, and you've already noticed some improvement. Just to mention a few of the things that we're doing. When it comes to accuracy and communication, we've created a cross-training plan for our GMS and sales reps to ensure that our customer reps are highly knowledgeable about our systems, our operations, and the products and services that we have, and that they can answer questions as accurately and as effectively as possible. We've also created targeted customer interaction training that's focused on common questions that we get from you, our customers, and so that our customer-facing reps can quickly answer questions for you. We're also working to understand what information you want and need so that we can provide information proactively and through whatever means is helpful for you.
When it comes to availability and responsiveness, we've developed a one-and-done process for responding to our customer inquiries to make sure that our questions are answered as much as possible on first contact, whether that be through phone calls, emails, or just messages. We also have had our sales and GMS reps change their status on ICE Chat every day so that both internal colleagues and customers can see who's online and their hours of work. We're in the process of creating a link right now from Enerline to enbridgegas.com, where we'll post our GMS staff schedule. That way, you'll see the hours of availability and the correct contact information for who you should call. We're also updating Enerline so that any questions that are deemed NONs related will go directly to our NONs rep, so that they can answer any questions you may have more quickly.
Finally, when it comes to our relationships, we're just trying to continue to build on our already strong relationships with our customers. You may have noticed we've been traveling a lot more this year post-COVID, and we're committed to getting out to meet with our customers in person as much as possible going forward. That includes both our sales reps as well as our GMS schedulers. At the same time, we're always actively seeking feedback on any pain points that you may have and thoughts on how we can improve. If we get to the last slide. We want your feedback, as I said, and we want to make sure that we're providing the best service and experiences possible. Right now we're currently using the Mastio Survey, which is primarily focused on transport for feedback.
It's out there right now, so if you do get a phone call in the near future, we really appreciate hearing from you. We want your thoughts, and we want your input on how we're doing. For 2023, we're gonna develop a targeted survey that includes our storage assets, and it may dig a little deeper into areas we think we can improve. Please stay tuned for that. We do highly value your thoughts and feedback. We wanna provide the best possible customer experience for all of you, our customers. Please be sure to reach out at any time with any questions, concerns, or ideas that you may have, so that we can be sure to address them right away. On behalf of all of us in Energy Services, we wanna thank you for your time, and we wanna wish you a great holiday season.
Please do feel free to reach out to us at any time for anything you may need. On the following slides, you'll see contact information. We have a slide for each of our S&P sales reps, our business development reps, and our GMS slash Enerline reps. Please, we look forward to meeting with you in the new year again. Also have a fantastic holiday season. We'll see you soon.