Regulatory Efficiency for Very Small Utilities (<5,000 customers)

About this consultation

The OEB has established a working group to assess opportunities for reducing regulatory burden associated with the filing and review process of major rate applications for very small local distribution companies (LDCs). This working group is comprised of representatives from very small LDCs, OEB staff and the Vulnerable Energy Consumer Coalition (VECC).

In response to the Office of the Auditor General of Ontario’s Report on the Value-for-Money Audit conducted in relation to the OEB, Electricity Oversight and Consumer Protection,[1] the OEB will conduct an evaluation of the impact of its recent and ongoing regulatory efficiency initiatives on very small LDCs.

These initiatives include:

• the Framework for the Review of Intervenor Processes and Cost Awards
• recent reviews of the OEB’s cost of service filing requirements for small electricity distributors

The OEB will assess the impact of these recent initiatives while balancing regulatory requirements against the need to ensure that the OEB has the evidence it needs to fulfil its statutory and administrative law obligations in setting just and reasonable rates. Based on this assessment, the OEB will take further actions if opportunities are identified to reduce the regulatory burden of major rate applications for very small electricity distributors.

Scope

While open to feedback from working group members regarding the working group’s scope, the initial focus is anticipated to include, but not be limited to, the following:

• The cost of service application process
• Current OEB regulatory efficiency initiatives, with attention to impact on very small electricity distributors
• The major components of cost of service rate applications (Filing Requirements)
• A process to regularly monitor and review impact of regulatory initiatives on very small electricity distributors