Government Notices — Other

Ontario Energy Board

Notice of Amendments to the Distribution System Code

Amendments made on March 17, 2025 and come into effect on May 5, 2025:

1. Section 1.2 of the Distribution System Code is amended by adding the following four definitions:

“critical customers”

include, at a minimum, emergency services (police fire and ambulance services) stations, hospitals, water and wastewater treatment plants, designated emergency shelters, and municipal and provincial emergency operations centres.

“high-impact low-frequency event”

means a severe weather event that meets the following criteria: (i) the daily System Average Interruption Duration Index exceeds the distributor’s Major Event Day threshold as calculated in accordance with IEEE Standard 1366; and (ii) more than 48 hours is required for the distributor to restore service to at least 90% of affected customers.

“severe weather”

means any weather condition that is severe and poses a substantial risk to the reliability, safety, or operation of the distribution system. Such conditions include, but are not limited to, high winds, freezing rain, tornadoes, ice storms, blizzards, heavy rainfall, flooding, and lightning storms.

“severe weather event”

means widespread interruptions in a distributor’s service area caused by severe weather.

1. Section 4.5.7 of the Distribution System Code is amended by deleting the third bullet and replacing it with the following:
   • Identification of the location of distribution circuits for critical customers.
2. Chapter 4 of the Distribution System Code is amended by adding the following new section:

1. 4. 9. Communications Related to Severe Weather Events
         1. A distributor shall use its best efforts to alert customers of impending severe weather that may cause a severe weather event.
         2. A distributor shall make available to customers, through one of the means of communication identified in section 4.9.4, an estimated time of restoration of service as quickly as possible and in any event no more than 4 hours after completion of a damage assessment related to the impact of a severe weather event on the distributor’s system.
         3. A distributor shall update the estimated time of restoration whenever there is a change to the previously provided estimate, which for clarity includes any instance where the actual restoration is delayed beyond the most recent estimate that was provided to customers.
         4. A distributor shall maintain at least one method of communicating with customers at all times during a severe weather event, including at least one of the following: the distributor’s website; the distributor’s social media channel; email; text messaging; telephone line; or radio broadcast.
         5. A distributor shall:
            1. maintain a list of critical customers for the purposes of section 4.5.7 and for communications related to severe weather events; and
            2. establish communication protocols specifically for critical customers related to severe weather events that must, at a minimum, include an emergency phone number for the distributor’s operations centre, control room or other designated emergency contact.
         6. In the case of a high-impact low-frequency event, a distributor shall in addition to the requirements set out in sections 4.9.1 to 4.9.5:
            1. make updates to the estimated time of restoration available to affected customers at intervals not exceeding six hours, starting from 48 hours after the event’s onset and continuing until service is restored to all customers.; and
            2. conduct a customer survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the distributor’s communications during the high-impact low-frequency event and revise its communications approach as warranted based on the results of the survey. The survey shall:
               • be completed within 60 days after service has been restored to all customers; and
               • include questions to assess customer satisfaction with the nature and timing of the information provided during the high-impact low-frequency event and to gather feedback on areas for improvement.

(158-G037)

Notice of Amendments to the Unit Sub-Metering Code

Amendments made on March 17, 2025 and come into effect on August 18, 2025:

“principal bill”

means the bill issued by the licensed distributor to the principal consumer;

“principal consumer”

means the exempt distributor or the person authorized by the ECPA Regulation to retain a unit sub-meter provider for the prescribed property being served by the licensed distributor;

“principal meter”

means the meter controlled by the licensed distributor and used for settlement of the principal bill with the principal consumer;

1. 7. Contract with a Prescribed Property
      1. A unit sub-meter provider shall not undertake any prescribed activity in a prescribed property unless the unit sub-meter provider has a contract with the principal consumer to do so.

2. 2. Technical Requirements for the Principal Meter
      1. A unit sub-meter provider shall ensure that the principal consumer has requested, and a distributor has installed, a principal meter that is an interval meter before beginning to provide unit sub-metering services.

3. 1. Disclosure of Agreements and Disclosure in Agreements

      1. For any prescribed property subject to section 33(2) of the ECPA, the unit sub-meter provider shall disclose to the principal consumer of the prescribed property all agreements between the unit sub-meter provider or its affiliate and the developer of the prescribed property or an affiliate of the developer.
      3. Every contract a unit sub-meter provider has with a consumer or principal consumer shall include the following information:
         1. the unit sub-meter provider’s capital investment and a description of all types of costs that can be included in the capital investment;
         2. the depreciation method used to depreciate the capital investment if there are to be undepreciated capital costs recovered upon termination of the contract;
         3. a description of, and whenever possible, the actual amount for, all fees and charges related to the provision of the unit sub-metering service; and
         4. a description of, and whenever possible, the actual amount for, all fees and charges related to the termination of the contract including:
            1. any fees or charges for the disconnection and removal of the installed unit sub-meters;
            2. any fees and charges related to the repayment of the undepreciated capital cost of the unit sub-meter provider’s capital investment; and
            3. the length of time allowed to repay the amount in section (ii) above.

3. 2. 4. 1. A unit sub-meter provider shall notify the OEB of any change to its Conditions of Service related to any of the subject matters listed in section 3.2.5 within five business days of the change taking effect.

3. 2. 5. A unit sub-meter provider’s Conditions of Service shall include, at a minimum, a description of the following:
         1. its billing cycle period and payment requirements;
         2. its security deposit procedure;
         3. its dispute resolution procedure;

         4. its business process for disconnecting and reconnecting consumers, including means of notification and timing;

            (d.1) its policy in relation to the timing of the application of any charge for reconnecting residential consumers who have been disconnected for non-payment, and any conditions under which the reconnection charge may be waived;

         5. conditions under which it may disconnect a consumer;

            (e.1) its policy in relation to disconnecting residential consumers for nonpayment at any time during the winter period and in relation to the reconnection of residential consumers during the winter period who had been disconnected for non-payment, which for greater clarity includes a policy permitting disconnection and/or refraining from reconnection during the winter period; and

         6. the unit sub-meter provider’s rights and obligations with respect to a consumer.

3. 2. 5. 1. For the purposes of paragraph (e.1) of section 3.2.5,

“winter period”

means the period commencing at 12:00 a.m. on November 15^th in one year and ending at 11:59 p.m. on April 30^th in the following year.

3. 3. 1. A unit sub-meter provider shall communicate general market and educational information to consumers to whom it provides a bill as required by the Board.

3. 3. 1. 1. A unit sub-meter provider shall provide to its residential consumers, at least twice annually, the following information in writing:
            1. information about the availability of arrears payment agreements;
            2. information about the availability of LEAP and OESP and any other electricity bill financial assistance program that the unit sub-meter providers may be required to make available to its residential consumers;
            3. information about how to access the unit sub-meter provider’s Conditions of Service; and
            4. information about how to contact the Board to file a complaint.
         2. A unit sub-meter provider shall deliver the information required under section 3.3.1A to a residential consumer by the consumer’s preferred method of communication, if known, otherwise by mail or any other means determined appropriate by the unit sub-meter provider.

4. 1. Security Deposits
      1. A unit sub-meter provider who is contracted to collect security deposits on behalf of the principal consumer shall ensure that its Conditions of Service include the unit sub-meter provider’s security deposit policy which shall be consistent with the provisions of this Code. A unit sub-meter provider’s security deposit policy shall include at a minimum the following:
         1. a list of all potential types/forms of security accepted;
         2. a detailed description of how the amount of security is calculated;
         3. limits on the amount of security required;
         4. the planned frequency, process and timing for updating security deposits;
         5. criteria consumers must meet to have security deposit waived and/or returned; and
         6. methods of enforcement where a security deposit is not paid.

4. 2. Disconnection and Reconnection
      1. A unit sub-meter provider shall not disconnect consumers for non-payment of bills unless the principal consumer has contracted the unit sub-meter provider to do so on its behalf.

4. 2. 7. 1. At least seven days before issuing a disconnection notice for non-payment, a unit sub-meter provider shall deliver an account overdue notice to the consumer by the consumer’s preferred method of communication, if known, or otherwise by mail or any other means determined to be appropriate by the unit sub-meter provider.

4. 3. Form of the Invoice
      1. A unit sub-meter provider who is contracted to bill low-volume consumers on behalf of the principal consumer shall comply with all applicable regulations regarding information on invoices to low-volume consumers of electricity.

4. 4. Payment of the Principal Bill
      1. If the unit sub-meter provider has assumed responsibility for payment for the principal bill, then the amount to be collected from consumers shall not include any penalties assessed by the licensed distributor on the principal bill. Penalties include, but are not limited to, late payment charges and disconnect or reconnect charges.

4. 6. Arrears Payment Agreements
      8. Despite section 4.6.6, a unit sub-meter provider shall not be required to offer an arrears payment agreement time period to a residential consumer that extends past the length of time that the residential consumer has an obligation to the principal consumer.

4. 9. Billing Errors
      14. Despite sections 4.9.5 and 4.9.6, a unit sub-meter provider shall not be required to allow a consumer to repay an under-billed amount over a time period that extends past the length of time that the consumer has an obligation to the principal consumer.

(158-G038)

Marriage Act

certificate of permanent registration as a person authorized to solemnize marriage in Ontario have been issued to the following:

March 10, 2025 to March 16, 2025

Re-Registrations

certificates of temporary registration as person authorized to solemnize marriage in Ontario have been issued to the following:

March 10, 2025 to March 16, 2025

certificate of cancellation of registration as a person authorized to solemnize marriage in Ontario have been issued to the following:

March 10, 2025 to March 16, 2025

Sirad Mohamoud
Deputy Registrar General

(158-G039)