UNION GAS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF CANADA'S BEST PLACES TO WORK

Receives 2011 Canada's Top 100 Employers award

CHATHAM, ON, Oct. 15 /CNW/ - Union Gas is one of Canada's Top 100 Employers, as determined by Mediacorp Canada Inc. This honour comes on the cusp of the company's 100^th year of doing business in Ontario.

"What a proud moment!," said Julie Dill, president of Union Gas. "Being chosen as one of Canada's Top 100 employers tells us we are making great strides toward our goal of becoming the employer of choice. At Union Gas, we are committed to a workplace that attracts and retains employees who reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.  We believe our 2,200 employees are the best in the business - empowered, engaged and committed to serving our customers and communities."

"Being recognized as a Top 100 Employer is an honour and it illustrates our efforts to become the company of choice for employees," said Greg Ebel, president and chief executive officer of Spectra Energy Corp, the parent company of Union Gas. "Our employees come to work each day ready to deliver excellence and results in every facet of the business, and together, we work hard to cultivate an environment of inclusion, accountability and opportunity."

Union Gas is an employer of choice because:

• It provides employees with opportunities to succeed thorough continuous learning and development programs.
• It promotes an inclusive work environment that builds on the diverse talents of its employees through recruitment outreach, sponsorship of community based diversity programs, diversity training at all levels and support for employee initiated programs such as the Cross Cultural Awareness Network and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Network.
• It actively champions the social causes that its employees are most passionate about - through a comprehensive community investment program, which includes funding for volunteer community improvement projects led by employees, retirees and their families, a corporate matching program for charitable donations and an employee-led United Way campaign.
• It engages employees in the development of green programs that help both our customers and our company to significantly reduce energy consumption. 

Union Gas employees, whether they have been with the company for a long time or are new to our workplace, value these important initiatives.

"I chose to work at Union Gas because it's evident that the well-being of their employees is a top priority," said Youmna Ahmed, who recently joined the company's engineering team. "Professionally, I hold my career in my own hands, but the leadership development resources that the company offers are a valuable tool to help me develop into the leader I know I can be."

"I started with Union Gas in 1966 and the last 44 years have passed by quickly," said Pat Duphette, a seasoned member of Union Gas' engineering planning and support team and one of the company's longest serving employees. "I attribute this to the atmosphere at Union Gas. Working here has provided me with ongoing development, a good social environment, provided for my family and prepared me for the next step in my life.  Union Gas is my employer of choice."       

About Union Gas

Union Gas Limited is a major Canadian natural gas storage, transmission and distribution company based in Ontario with nearly 100 years of experience and service to customers. The distribution business serves 1.3 million residential, commercial and industrial customers in more than 400 communities across northern, southwestern and eastern Ontario. Union Gas's growing storage and transmission business offers premium storage and transportation services to customers at the Dawn Hub, the largest underground storage facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America.  It offers customers an important link in the movement of natural gas from Western Canadian and U.S. supply basins to markets in central Canada and the northeast U.S. Union Gas, one of Canada's Top 100 Employers for 2011, is a Spectra Energy (NYSE: SE) company with assets of $5 billion and approximately 2,200 employees. For more information, visit uniongas.com.

About Spectra Energy

Spectra Energy Corp (NYSE: SE), a FORTUNE 500 company, is one of North America's premier natural gas infrastructure companies serving three key links in the natural gas value chain: gathering and processing, transmission and storage, and distribution. For nearly a century, Spectra Energy and its predecessor companies have developed critically important pipelines and related infrastructure connecting natural gas supply sources to premium markets. Based in Houston, Texas, the company operates in the United States and Canada approximately 19,100 miles of transmission pipeline, more than 305 billion cubic feet of storage, as well as natural gas gathering and processing, natural gas liquids operations and local distribution assets. The company also has a 50 percent ownership in DCP Midstream, one of the largest natural gas gatherers and processors in the United States. Spectra Energy is a member of both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index and the U.S. S&P 500 Carbon Disclosure Project's Leadership Index. For more information, visit www.spectraenergy.com                  

For further information:

Union Gas Limited     
Andrea Stass    
Manager, Media Relations   
Ph: 519 436-5490   
Cell: 519 365-1010   
[email protected]