O. Reg. 311/13: ADJUSTMENTS UNDER SECTION 25.33 OF THE ACT

ONTARIO REGULATION 311/13

made under the

ELECTRICITY ACT, 1998

Made: November 27, 2013
Filed: November 29, 2013
Published on e-Laws: November 29, 2013
Printed in The Ontario Gazette: December 14, 2013

Amending O. Reg. 429/04

(ADJUSTMENTS UNDER SECTION 25.33 OF THE ACT)

1. Subsection 1 (2) of Ontario Regulation 429/04 is amended by adding “except where the contrary is indicated in section 16” at the end.

2. (1) Section 16 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsection:

(1.1) In this section,

“low-volume consumer” means a low-volume consumer as defined in section 56 of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998.

(2) Subsection 16 (4) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “Class B consumers” in the portion before paragraph 1 and substituting “Class B consumers who are not low-volume consumers”.

(3) Section 16 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsections:

(4.1) Every licensed distributor shall make adjustments with respect to its Class B consumers who are low-volume consumers in accordance with the following rules:

1. For each Class B low-volume consumer, the licensed distributor shall make adjustments in accordance with the rules set out in subsection (4), except that, wherever those rules require the licensed distributor to use the volume of electricity in determining the amount of the adjustment, the licensed distributor shall use the volume of electricity exclusive of the volume for total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, that is attributed to the consumer.

2. For each Class B low-volume consumer, the licensed distributor shall make separate adjustments in accordance with subsection (4.2) regarding the volume of total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, that is attributed to the consumer.

(4.2) Every licensed distributor shall make separate adjustments described in paragraph 2 of subsection (4.1) with respect to its Class B consumers who are low-volume consumers in accordance with the following rules:

1. For each Class B low-volume consumer whose electricity use is measured by an interval meter and who is neither a regulated consumer nor a consumer who has a contract with a retailer who uses retailer-consolidated billing, the licensed distributor shall,

i. for each month in the Class B low-volume consumer’s billing period, multiply the specified Class B rate for that month by the volume of total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, that is attributed to the consumer for that month,

ii. add the monthly amounts determined under subparagraph i for the billing period, and

iii. adjust the invoice that the licensed distributor issues to the Class B low-volume consumer for the billing period by giving a credit for the amount determined under subparagraph ii if the amount is negative or by adding the amount determined under subparagraph ii as an additional charge if the amount is positive.

2. For each Class B low-volume consumer whose electricity use is not measured by an interval meter and who is neither a regulated consumer nor a consumer who has a contract with a retailer who uses retailer-consolidated billing, the licensed distributor shall,

i. multiply the weighted average rate determined for the billing period under subparagraph 2 i of subsection (4) by the volume of total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, that is attributed to the consumer for the billing period, and

ii. adjust the invoice that the licensed distributor issues to the Class B low-volume consumer for the billing period by giving a credit for the amount determined under subparagraph i if the amount is negative or by adding the amount determined under subparagraph i as an additional charge if the amount is positive.

3. For each Class B low-volume consumer whose electricity use is measured by an interval meter and who has a contract with a retailer who uses retailer-consolidated billing, the licensed distributor shall,

i. for each month in the Class B low-volume consumer’s billing period, multiply the specified Class B rate for that month by the volume of total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, that is attributed to the consumer for that month,

ii. add the monthly amounts determined under subparagraph i for the billing period, and

iii. adjust the accounts between the licensed distributor and the retailer with whom the Class B low-volume consumer has a contract by giving a credit for the amount determined under subparagraph ii if the amount is negative or by adding the amount determined under subparagraph ii as an additional charge if the amount is positive.

4. For each Class B low-volume consumer whose electricity use is not measured by an interval meter and who has a contract with a retailer who uses retailer-consolidated billing, the licensed distributor shall,

i. multiply the weighted average rate determined for the billing period under subparagraph 4 i of subsection (4) by the volume of total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, that is attributed to the consumer for the billing period, and

ii. adjust the accounts between the licensed distributor and the retailer with whom the Class B low-volume consumer has a contract by giving a credit for the amount determined under subparagraph i if the amount is negative or by adding the amount determined under subparagraph i as an additional charge if the amount is positive.

(4) Subsection 16 (5) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “with respect to a Class B consumer who is not a regulated consumer” in the portion before clause (a) and substituting “with respect to a Class B consumer who is neither a low-volume consumer nor a regulated consumer”.

(5) Section 16 of the Regulation is amended by adding the following subsection:

(5.1) If, under subsections (4.1) and (4.2), a licensed distributor adjusts the accounts between the licensed distributor and a retailer with respect to a Class B consumer who is a low-volume consumer and is not a regulated consumer, the retailer shall adjust the invoice that the retailer issues to the consumer by,

(a) giving a credit equal to the total of the adjustment made under paragraph 1 of subsection (4.1) and the adjustment made under paragraph 2 of subsection (4.1), if the licensed distributor gave a credit under subsections (4.1) and (4.2) with respect to the Class B low-volume consumer; or

(b) adding an additional charge equal to the total of the adjustment made under paragraph 1 of subsection (4.1) and the adjustment made under paragraph 2 of subsection (4.1), if the licensed distributor added additional charges under subsections (4.1) and (4.2) with respect to the Class B low-volume consumer.

(6) Subsection 16 (6) of the Regulation is amended by striking out “Class B consumer” in the portion before clause (a) and substituting “Class B consumer who is not a low-volume consumer”.

(7) Subsection 16 (7) is revoked and the following substituted:

(7) If, under subsections (4.1) and (4.2) or under subsection (5.1), an invoice issued to a Class B consumer who is a low-volume consumer is adjusted to give a credit or add an additional charge, the licensed distributor or retailer who issues the invoice to the consumer shall ensure that the invoice, in addition to meeting the requirements of Ontario Regulation 275/04 (Information on Invoices to Low-Volume Consumers of Electricity) made under the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, meets the following requirements:

1. An additional sub-heading entitled “Global Adjustment” shall be added to the invoice after the sub-heading “Electricity” referred to in subsection 1 (2) of Ontario Regulation 275/04 but before the sub-heading “Delivery” referred to in that subsection.

2. Under the sub-heading “Global Adjustment”, the invoice must clearly indicate,

i. the amount of the credit or additional charge,

ii. the volume of electricity, exclusive of the volume for total losses as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, that was used to calculate the amount of the credit or additional charge, and

iii. the rate, in cents per kilowatt hour, by which the volume of electricity referred to in subparagraph ii would have to be multiplied to give the amount of the credit or additional charge.

3. The total cost of the delivery charges that are indicated under the sub-heading “Delivery” on the invoice under section 3 of Ontario Regulation 275/04 shall include the separate adjustment made for volume of total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, in accordance with subsection (4.2) of this section.

4. The glossary of terms and their meanings that is required to be included on or with the invoice under section 10 of Ontario Regulation 275/04 shall include the following additional term and its meaning:

Global Adjustment

Electricity generators in Ontario receive a combination of payments from the operation of the wholesale market, payments set by regulation and payments under contracts. Your portion of the net adjustments arising from these and other authorized payments is included on your bill as the Global Adjustment.

(7.1) For greater certainty, a licensed distributor or retailer who issues an invoice to a Class B consumer who is a low-volume consumer shall add the amount of the separate adjustment made for the volume of total losses, as defined in the Retail Settlement Code, in accordance with subsection (4.2) of this section to the sum of all amounts used to calculate the total cost of delivery charges and listed in subsection 3 (2) of Ontario Regulation 275/04 (Information on Invoices to Low-Volume Consumers of Electricity) made under the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998.

Commencement

3. This Regulation comes into force on the later of July 1, 2015 and the day it is filed.