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Getting to know the Ontario Energy Board - Resource Guide for
Regulated Entities
We’ve developed this Resource Guide as part of our commitment
to work with you, our stakeholders, to be a helpful and responsible
regulator. It is a plain-language reference tool outlining why,
what and how we regulate. Our goal is to help you better understand
the OEB and our processes so you can manage the regulatory requirements
you face in the most efficient and effective way.
Ontario’s energy sector has undergone dramatic changes in
the past decade, particularly in the electricity field. A series
of new laws and regulations were put in place to help our province
better respond to energy challenges and build a stronger, more viable
and dynamic sector. These measures have meant significant changes
for all involved. For example:
- We at the OEB have been given much broader powers and new responsibilities
by the Government of Ontario;
- Market participants must comply with a host of new rules and
processes required by provincial legislation; and
- Consumers have been given the opportunity to choose among energy
commodity options.
It is also a pivotal time in our province’s energy history,
where conservation is taking a more prominent role and new technologies
are being explored and implemented.
This is a new experience for everyone in the industry as well as
us here at the OEB. We know there are many questions about our expanded
role and what it means to you. And we’re sensitive to the
demands that being regulated places on your organization; in particular,
the requirements of dealing with an adjudicative process.
We hope you find the Guide useful – please let us know what
you think by emailing us at market.operations@oeb.gov.on.ca.
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Quick
facts about the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) |
|
1. |
The OEB is
the regulator of Ontario’s natural gas and electricity
sectors. |
| 2. |
The OEB envisions a healthy
and efficient energy sector with informed consumers served
by responsive regulatory processes that are effective, fair
and transparent. |
| 3. |
Our key regulatory functions
include:
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| 4. |
To conduct many of our
regulatory functions, such as approving rates and the construction
of facilities, we mainly operate as a quasi-judicial (court-like)
tribunal. Through oral and written public
hearings, as well as other, more informal processes such
as technical conferences, working groups and written consultations,
we strive to balance the needs of all our stakeholders, including
energy consumers, the firms we regulate and society overall. |
| 5. |
The OEB reviews and processes
hundreds of applications
annually – ranging from routine licensing requests that
can be processed quickly to complex rate-change applications
that require lengthy processes, including public hearings,
that can take up to a year to complete. |
| 6. |
Based in Toronto, the OEB
is an independent, self-financing Crown corporation. |
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