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O. Reg. 842/21: ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE (PART VI.1 OF THE ACT)

under Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 15, Sched. B

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Versions
current January 1, 2022 (e-Laws currency date)
December 10, 2021 December 31, 2021

Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998

ONTARIO REGULATION 842/21

ELECTRICITY INFRASTRUCTURE (PART VI.1 OF THE ACT)

Historical version for the period December 10, 2021 to December 31, 2021.

Note: THIS REGULATION IS NOT YET IN FORCE. It comes into force on January 1, 2022, the day section 7 of Schedule 2 to the Supporting Broadband and Infrastructure Expansion Act, 2021 comes into force.

No amendments.

This is the English version of a bilingual regulation.

Definitions

1. In this Regulation,

“telecommunications entity” means a telecommunications service provider or other person or entity referred to in subparagraph 1 ii of section 3; (“entité de télécommunication”)

“telecommunications facility”, “telecommunications service” and “telecommunications service provider” have the same meaning as in the Telecommunications Act (Canada). (“installation de télécommunication”, “service de télécommunication”, “fournisseur de services de télécommunication”)

Interpretation, references to prescribed use, access or development

2. A reference in this Regulation to a prescribed use of, access to or development of electricity infrastructure is a reference to the use of, access to or development of electricity infrastructure to which Part VI.1 of the Act applies, as set out in section 3, or to such aspect or part of the use, access, development or electricity infrastructure to which that Part applies as may be specified in this Regulation, as the case may be.

Application of Part VI.1 of the Act

3. The following uses of, access to and development of electricity infrastructure are prescribed for the purposes of section 104.2 of the Act:

1. Use of or access to any part of a distribution system, including distribution poles owned by a licensed distributor, if the use or access is,

i. for the purpose of providing or facilitating the provision of telecommunications services, and

ii. by a telecommunications service provider or by any other person or entity that needs the use or access in order to attach wires, cables or any other telecommunications facility, not including a wireless attachment, for a purpose specified in subparagraph i.

2. Development of any part of a distribution system, including distribution poles owned by a licensed distributor, if the development is for the purpose of providing for or otherwise enabling electricity infrastructure use or access specified in paragraph 1.

Capital planning

4. (1) If the Board requires licensed distributors to submit a capital plan to it under the Act, the Board shall require,

(a) that, in preparing the plan, a licensed distributor must conduct consultations with any telecommunications entity that operates within the distributor’s service area for the purpose of facilitating the prescribed use of, access to or development of electricity infrastructure; and

(b) that a licensed distributor must include the following information in the plan:

(i) the number of consultations that were conducted in accordance with clause (a) and a summary of the manner in which the licensed distributor determined with whom to consult,

(ii) a summary of the results of the consultations, and

(iii) a statement as to whether the results of the consultations are reflected in the plan and, if so, a summary as to how.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) limits any authority of the Board to require a licensed distributor to provide any additional information respecting the interaction between the licensed distributor and a telecommunications entity in relation to the requirements referred to in subsection (1), including respecting any actions taken by the distributor as a result of those interactions.

Distribution pole attachment charge

5. (1) The Board shall, in accordance with the following rules, establish for each year a distribution pole attachment charge that, subject to subsection (4), shall be charged by a licensed distributor referred to in subsection (2) for the prescribed use of or access to each of the licensed distributor’s distribution poles during that year:

1. For 2022, the Board shall apply the Board’s approach that is set out in the report of the Board titled “EB-2015-0304 Wireline Pole Attachment Charges”, dated March 22, 2018 and published on the Board’s website, including the cost data and other information and assumptions relied on by the Board in the report, except that,

i. the Board shall select as its common costs allocation methodology the proportional use methodology set out in the report, and

ii. the Board shall not make any adjustment for inflation for 2021 or 2022.

2. For every year following 2022, the distribution pole attachment charge shall be the distribution pole attachment charge established by the Board for the previous year, adjusted for inflation in accordance with the inflationary adjustment mechanism set out in the report referred to in paragraph 1.

(2) Subsection (1) applies with respect to the following licensed distributors:

1. Any licensed distributor who, immediately before the day this section came into force, was subject to the order of the Board titled “Order EB-2020-0288 Wireline Pole Attachment Charge”, dated December 10, 2020 and published on the Board’s website.

2. InnPower Corporation.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (1), a distribution pole attachment charge shall be established by an order of the Board without a hearing.

(4) If the distribution pole attachment charge specified for a year in an order made for the purposes of this section conflicts with an agreement between a licensed distributor and a telecommunications entity that applies in that year, the agreement prevails over the order to the extent of the conflict.

(5) Subsection (4) applies with respect to an agreement whether it was entered into before, on or after the day this section comes into force.

(6) The Board shall ensure that an order made for the purposes of this section includes reference to the conflict rule set out in subsection (4).

6. Omitted (provides for coming into force of provisions of this Regulation).