Energy Transition Updates

UPDATED (July 17, 2023): In response to the Minister of Energy's Letter of Direction (October 2022), the OEB has provided its advice to the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel, an advisory body established by the Ontario government to help prepare the province’s economy for electrification and the energy transition. The OEB thanks stakeholders for their input, which informed its submission to the panel, and looks forward to the panel’s report to the Minister of Energy.

In September 2022, the OEB launched an initiative to seek stakeholder feedback on its short- and medium-term priorities as they relate to the energy transition. This feedback informed the development of the Energy Transition Roadmap which is a schedule of initiatives that map out the work of the OEB within the broader context of its 2023-2026 Business Plan.

In September 2021, the OEB’s Board of Directors established an Innovation Task Force (ITF), a committee of the Board tasked with examining:

• What is happening in the energy sector in terms of disruptive technology and what are the implications?
• What options are available for a leading, modern regulator such as the OEB in responding to these circumstances?

The role of the ITF was to provide advice and make recommendations to the OEB's Board of Directors and to government, as may be appropriate. The ITF retained Guidehouse to prepare a report to the ITF, which includes the following:

• Identification of the impact of innovations and technologies related to the energy transition on the energy sector in Ontario;
• Assessment of how energy regulators in other jurisdictions are responding to the challenges posed by the energy transition;
• Consideration of the OEB’s past and ongoing work relative to other regulators as it relates to the energy transition; and, considering all of this,
• Recommendations for further actions the OEB can take in response to disruptive innovation and the energy transition.

The ITF adopted and reported back to the OEB Board of Directors on the recommendations set out in the Guidehouse Report and has been dissolved, having concluded its work. The OEB is considering these recommendations in developing its Energy Transition Roadmap. The OEB also shared the Guidehouse Report with the Ministry of Energy and the Electrification and Energy Transition Panel, for consideration.

• Guidehouse Report to the OEB’s ITF: Analysis & Recommendations

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) received 412 responses to an online poll created to solicit stakeholder input on its Energy Transition priorities. The OEB remains committed to delivering public value in an evolving energy sector.