Minister’s directive

To: The Independent Electricity System Operator

I, Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, with the support of Bill Walker, Associate Minister of Energy, hereby direct the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) pursuant to section 25.32 of the Electricity Act, 1998 (Act) in regard to certain projects or undertakings that were initiated or continued under the electricity conservation and demand management (CDM) procurement initiative known as the 2015–2020 Conservation First Framework (CFF), as follows:

Background

Our government recognizes that CDM programs help electricity consumers manage their bills, lower overall electricity system demand and are an important contributor to the Ontario economy.

The CFF was originally established under the direction entitled “2015–2020 Conservation First Framework” issued to the Ontario Power Authority on March 31, 2014, and was discontinued pursuant to the Minister’s Directive issued to the IESO on March 21, 2019. The Directive discontinuing the CFF was itself approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council pursuant to Order-in-Council No. 380/2019 dated March 20, 2019.

We are aware that the current health crisis caused by the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (covid-19) has continued to delay the completion of certain projects that were undertaken under the CFF. Our government understands that this has had an ongoing negative impact on certain participants’ ability to meet project deadlines, including as a result of the mandatory closure of non-essential workplaces in the construction sector and other commercial and industrial spaces. This has led to the onset of supply chain delays and travel restrictions.

Pursuant to the Minister’s Directive issued to the IESO on July 22, 2020, as approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council pursuant to Order-in-Council No. 1054/2020 dated July 22, 2020 (the First CFF Extension Directive), the IESO was permitted to extend in-service deadlines and other time periods for certain projects that were undertaken under the CFF.

The government understands the need for ongoing flexibility in response to the challenges facing businesses during this difficult time, and is therefore directing the IESO to take such steps as may be necessary or advisable in order to enable further extensions of in-service deadlines and other contract-performance-related time periods for CFF projects to not later than December 31, 2021. These extensions are intended to offset the disruptions referred to above that are caused by covid-19, and to provide stability for participants and those businesses involved in the supply chain, including the vendor and contractor community that support the implementation of the above-noted CFF projects. The government expects the IESO and local distribution companies (LDCs) to use commercially reasonable efforts to minimize administrative expenses associated with this extension.

Directive

Therefore, in accordance with the authority I have pursuant to section 25.32 of the Act, I hereby direct the IESO as follows:

  1. Paragraph 1 under the heading “Direction” in the First CFF Extension Directive is deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

    “In respect of participant agreements under the CFF (i) entered into by the IESO, or (ii) entered into by a local distribution company (LDC) and that were, as of September 3, 2020, compliant with the CFF Program Wind-Down Guideline dated March 21, 2019, the IESO may take such steps as are commercially reasonable to facilitate the implementation of this Directive, including to amend, reinstate or restate those agreements or facilitate the amendments, reinstatements or restatements of those agreements, as applicable, to extend in-service deadlines and other time periods (including those related to project implementation, savings achievement, reporting, and termination) in those participant agreements until December 31, 2021, and to take any further steps or to facilitate any other commercially reasonable steps including facilitating amendments, reinstatements or restatements that result from any such extensions. Any electricity savings or demand reductions achieved during any extended time period shall continue to be attributable to the CFF.”

General

This Directive takes effect on the date it is issued.

Order in Council 793/2021