OEB Guidlines
Rules, Codes, Guidelines & Forms
Listed below are the regulatory instruments that govern the energy industry participants, such as codes, guidelines, accounting and reporting and record-keeping requirements:
Jump down:
- General Regulatory
- Natural Gas
- Electricity
- Accounting Procedures for Natural Gas & Electricity
- Reporting & Record Keeping Requirements for Natural Gas & Electricity
General Regulatory
+ OEB Rules of Practice & Procedure
Sets out general procedures to be followed by parties appearing on matters before the Board.
Ontario Energy Board Rules of Practice and Procedure (revised July 14, 2008)
- Letter explaining the July 14, 2008 revisions
- Comparison version of Rules (for information purposes only)
- Amendments to Rules 10 and 29.02 (published November 16, 2006 and consolidated into the Rules in July 2008)
+ Practice Directions
Practice Direction on Confidential Filings (published Nov 16, 2006)
Practice Direction on Cost Awards (revised June 9, 2009)
- Letter explaining the August 14, 2008 amendments to the Practice Direction on Cost Awards.
- Letter explaining the October 27, 2005 amendments to the Practice Direction on Cost Awards.
- Appendix A:
Cost Award Tariff - Appendix B:
Form 1 – Summary of Statement of Hours
Form 2 – Summary of Disbursements
Form 3 – Affidavit in Support of Cost Claim (revised June 9, 2009)
+ Settlement Conference Guidelines
Provides guidance on the Board’s settlement conference process, including the rights and obligations of all participants, the role of the facilitator and the role of Board staff.
Natural Gas
+ Affiliate Relationships Code for Gas Utilities
Sets out the standards and conditions for the interaction between gas distributors, transmitters and storage companies and their respective affiliated companies.
Affiliate Relationships Code for Gas Utilities (Revised June 9, 2005)
+ Code of Conduct for Gas Marketers
Sets out the minimum standards under which a licensed gas marketer may market natural gas.
+ Environmental Guidelines for Hydrocarbon Pipelines and Facilities in Ontario
Provides direction to parties applying for facilities approvals before the Board. It includes the planning requirements for locating new facilities, the mitigation required for construction of these projects as well as the process for review and approval of the environmental reports which are produced.
Environmental Guidelines for Hydrocarbon Pipelines and Facilities in Ontario
+ Gas Distribution Access Rule
Establishes conditions of access to gas distribution services provided by a gas distributor and sets out rules governing the conduct of gas distributors toward gas vendors, including gas marketers.
Gas Distribution Access Rule (as amended December 11, 2007)
Service Agreement (as amended December 11, 2007)
For more information visit the Gas Distribution Access Rule (GDAR) webpage
+ Minimum Filing Requirements for Natural Gas Distribution Cost of Service Applications
Sets out the standards by which the natural gas utility applications must be developed and filed. These requirements are to be used by natural gas utilities for filing a cost of service application for 2007 rates.
Minimum Filing Requirements for Natural Gas Distribution Cost of Service Applications
+ Model Franchise Agreement
Each municipality may grant a gas utility the right to deliver gas service and use road allowances or utility easements within its borders. The municipal franchise agreement outlines the specific terms and conditions of the agreement between the municipality and the utility and requires OEB approval.
2000 Model Franchise Agreement
Gas Franchise Handbook published by a joint committee of Gas Company and Municipal Sector Representatives
+ Storage and Transportation Access Rule (STAR)
The purpose of this Rule is to: 1) establish operating requirements to ensure open and non-discriminatory access to transportation services for customers and storage providers, 2) establish reporting requirements for natural gas transmitters, integrated utilities and storage providers and, 3) ensure customer protection within the competitive storage market. The Board made this Rule in accordance with section 44(1) of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998.
Electricity
+ 2005 Distribution Rate Adjustment
The Board has developed an application process for electricity distributors to apply for distribution rate adjustments in 2005. The process is described in the Filing Guidelines provided below. The 2005 Rate Adjustment Model (RAM) and the 2005 Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILs) Model and documentation for both models are provided below.
+ Affiliate Relationships Code for Distributors and Transmitters
Sets out the standards and conditions for the interaction between electricity distributors and transmitters and their respective affiliated companies.
NOTE: This amended version of the Affiliate Relationships Code contains numerous amendments made by the Board that were posted on the Board’s website on May 16, 2008. Section 2.3 of this revised version of the Affiliate Relationships Code does not come into effect until August 16, 2008. Until that time, section 2.3 of the Affiliate Relationships Code as it existed before the May 16, 2008 revisions (see link below) and the associated definition of “fair market value” will continue to apply. In addition, the amendments to the Affiliate Relationships Code that were issued by the Board on May 16, 2008 do not apply to any Affiliate Contract that was in effect on September 19, 2007 until such time as the initial term of the Affiliate Contract expires. Until that time, the relevant sections of the Affiliate Relationships Code as it existed before the May 16, 2008 revisions (see link below) will continue to apply to such Affiliate Contracts.
NOTE: Section 2.3 of this version of the Affiliate Relationships Code applies to all affiliate transactions until August 16, 2008. After that time, section 2.3 of the amended Affiliate Relationships Code as issued by the Board on May 16, 2008 (see link above) will apply. Certain provisions of this version of the Affiliate Relationships Code also continue to apply to Affiliate Contracts that were in effect on September 19, 2007 until such time as the initial term of the Affiliate Contract expires. After that time, the relevant sections of the amended Affiliate Relationships Code as issued by the Board on May 16, 2008 (see link above) will apply.
Guidance from the Chief Compliance Officer for Self-Certifying Compliance with the Affiliate Relationships Code for Electricity Distributors and Transmitters:
+ Authorized Electronic Business Transaction Standards
Sets out comprehensive standards for electronic business transactions to allow electricity retailers and distributors to share customer and billing information efficiently and promote the rapid and accurate settlement of all accounts. EBT standards were developed by a Board advisory committee and working group.
Letter of Board Authorization dated December 20, 2007
Approval Request EBT Standards Version 4.0
Ontario EBT Standards Document Version 3.1
This page contains current documentation. Current and historical documentation, including Implementation Guides and Schemas, can be accessed at the OEB EBT Standards Working Group website at the following link:
+ Directive for the Disclosure of Information to Consumers by Electricity Retailers
Sets out the minimum standard under which a retailer must disclose to electricity consumers information relating to system-wide electricity supply mix and the electricity supply mix of electricity products.
+ Distribution System Code
Sets out the minimum obligations that a licensed electricity distributor must meet in carrying out its obligations to distribute electricity within its service area under its licence.
Distribution System Code (revised Oct 21-09)
- Appendix A – Conditions of Service
- Appendix B – Methodology and Assumptions for An Economic Evaluation
- Appendix C – Minimum Inspection Requirements
- Appendix D – Information in a Connection Agreement with a Customer
- Appendix E – Contracts and Applications for Connecting a Generator to the Local Distribution System & Information in a Connection Agreement for a Large Embedded Generation Facility
- Appendix F – Process and Technical Requirements for Connecting Embedded Generation Facilities
- Appendix G – Process for Connecting Another Distributor
- Appendix H – Farm Stray Voltage Distributor Investigation Procedure
- Frequently Asked Questions about the Distribution System Code
- Fire Safety Notice
- Avis de sécurité-incendie
Amendments to the DSC:
1. Amendments regarding the treatment of bulk-metered residential condominiums for security deposit purposes. Read here for information about the changes.
2. Amendments regarding maximum cumulative generation from net metered generators that the distributor must allow to be connected and a revised version of the net metering threshold table that accompanied Notice of the net metering amendments to the Distribution System Code (EB-2005-0447). Read here for information about the changes.
3. Amendments regarding consumer security deposits. Read here for information about the changes
4. Amendments regarding the connection of new generation to distribution systems. Read here for information about the changes
5. Please note that there is no change to any of the Distribution System Code or Retail Settlement Code amendments issued by the Board on October 30, 2006.
6. Amendments to Chapter 3 – Connections and Expansions, in force as of January 23, 2007. Read here for information about the changes.
7. Amendments with respect to load transfers came into force as of March 12, 2007. Read here for information about the changes.
8. Amendments with respect to Electricity Service Quality Requirements, in force as of January 1, 2009. Read here for information about the changes.
9. Amendments to facilitate the connection of smaller size embedded generation facilities, came into force February 12, 2009. Read here for more information about the changes.
10. Amendments to extend the time period for geographic distributors to eliminate their long term load transfer arrangements came into force June 10, 2009. Read here for more information about the changes.
11. Amendments to include the addition of a ‘Farm Stray Voltage Distributor Investigation Procedure’ (Appendix H) and for Customer reclassification and non-payment risk issues.
- Read here for more information on Farm Stray Voltage changes
- Read here for more information on customer reclassification and non-payment risk changes
12. September 21, 2009 amendments to the generation connection and capacity allocation process and for account treatment of embedded retail generators.
- Read here for more information on the generation connection and capacity allocation process
- Read here for more information on the account treatment of embedded retail generators
13. Amendments in relation to assigning cost responsibility as between a distributor and a generator in relation to the connection of renewable generation facilities to distribution systems.
+ Electricity Distribution Rate Handbook
Sets out the policies, guidelines and procedures to be used by Ontario electricity distributors in preparing applications for distribution rates. Also included are associated Excel spreadsheets that conform with the methodologies in the Distribution Rate Handbook and that will assist in the preparation and analysis of rate applications.
There are two versions of the Distribution Rate Handbook. The current version is the 2006 DRH to be used in resetting the revenue requirement of an electricity distributor as part of 2006 distribution rate applications.
The prior version of the DRH was used for establishing unbundled distribution rates and for calculating the price cap-based rate adjustment, and was used primarily for distribution rate setting in 2001 and 2002. It contains information pertinent to electricity distribution rate-setting effective to April 30, 2006.
+ Electricity Distributor Recovery of Regulatory Assets, Phase 1
The Minister of Energy has granted approval for electricity distribution companies to apply to the Board for recovery of Regulatory Assets, effective March 1, 2004. The filing guidelines provide direction for the distributors in filing for these rate changes.
On February 5, 2004, the Board published notice of applications by 92 distribution utilities seeking to recover Regulatory Assets.
The Board has prepared a summary report of Regulatory Asset accounts as provided by the utility in its rate application. The individual application should be referred to for the amount proposed by the utility to be recovered in rates starting April 1, 2004. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, intervening parties should consult applications of interest.
+ Electricity Distributor Recovery of Regulatory Assets, Phase 2
The Board has determined that the Review of Regulatory Assets for Ontario Electricity Distributors would be done in two Phases, Phase 1 was the granting of interim rate recovery on April 1, 2004. Phase 2 is the prudency review of the Regulatory Asset balances. As a first step in Phase 2, the Board reviewed the Regulatory Asset applications of Hydro One, Toronto Hydro, Enersource Hydro Mississauga and London Hydro. In addition to the decisions on the rate recovery amounts for each of these four distributors, the Board also assessed what would constitute the best evidence, forum and process to determine the reasonableness of Regulatory Asset amounts for the remaining distributors.
- July 26 -05:
- Mar 14-05:
- Hydro One Networks Inc.Final Order
- Hydro One Networks Inc. Legacy Schedule
- Hydro One Networks Inc. Acquired Schedule
- Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited Interim Order
- Toronto Hydro-Electric System Limited Interim Schedule
- Enersource Hydro Mississauga Inc. Final Order
- Enersource Hydro Mississauga Inc. Schedule
- London Hydro Inc. Final Order
- London Hydro Inc. Schedule
- Jan 11-05:
- Dec 9-04:
- May 5-04:
+ Electricity Distributor Recovery of Regulatory Assets, Phase 2 for remaining Distributors
Following the Phase 2 prudence review of Regulatory Assets for Hydro One, Toronto Hydro, Enersource Hydro and London Hydro, the Board determined what constitutes the best evidence, forum and process to determine the reasonableness of Regulatory Assets and how these amounts should be recovered from customers, for the remaining distributors. The Filing Guidelines provided below are based on the Board’s Decision. The Regulatory Assets worksheet and accompanying documentation are also provided below. Electric utilities should apply to the Board for their Phase 2 Regulatory Assets review concurrently with their 2006 EDR applications.
- July 25-05
- July 12-05
+ Electricity Retailer Code of Conduct
Sets out the minimum standards under which a licensed electricity retailer may retail electricity.
+ Electricity Distribution Retail Transmission Service Rates
Sets out for distributors instructions on the evidence required and the process to be used to adjust their Retail Transmission Service Rates (“RTSR”) to reflect the 9.2% increase in the Ontario uniform transmission rates. RTSRs are charges that a distributor applies to end-use customers to recover the costs associated with the payment by the distributor of wholesale transmission connection and network rates.
Guideline – Retail Transmission Service Rates (revised Jul 22-09)
+ Filing Requirements for Service Area Amendment Applications
Provides guidance to electricity distributors with respect to filing applications for service area amendment and applications under Section 86.(1)(b) of the OEB Act, 1998, for the purpose of eliminating long term load transfer arrangements:
Filing Requirements for Service Area Amendment Applications
- Letter: Guidance to Electricity Distributors with Respect to Filing Applications for Service Area Amendment and Applications (Nov 23-07)
- Cover Letter (Mar 12-07)
On December 20, 2006, the Board issued a letter to electricity transmitters, distributors and interested parties together with a staff proposal on the Filing Requirements for Service Area Amendment Applications. The Board sought comments on the proposed filing requirements by January 17, 2007. Four parties responded. The Board has now finalized the document, which specifies the information required by the Board for these types of applications. In due course, the document will be incorporated as the next chapter (chapter seven) in the “Filing Requirements for Transmission and Distribution Applications”, issued on November 14, 2006.
+ Filing Requirements for Transmission and Distribution Applications
Sets out the standards for transmitters and distributors to follow when filing for rate adjustments, leave to construct approvals, and conservation funding.
- Update to Chapter 3 of the Filing Requirements for Transmission and Distribution Applications (Jul 22-09)
- Cover Letter for Revised Chapter 2 (May 27-09)
- Final document – Revised Chapter 2 of Filing Requirements for Transmission and Distribution Applications (May 27-09)
- Revised Chapter 2 Appendices (Word version)
- Revised Chapter 2 Appendices (Excel version)
- Revenue Requirement Work Form (RRWF)
- Tax model (Board methodology) (.xls)
- Deferral Account Continuity Schedule (.xls)
- Cover Letter for final document (Nov 14-06)
- Final document – Filing Requirements for Transmission and Distribution Applications (Nov 14-06)
+ Minimum Filing Requirements for Transmission and Distribution Rate Applications and Leave to Construct Projects
The Board Secretary posted a letter to electricity transmitters, distributors and interested parties together with a staff proposal on the “Minimum Filing Requirements for Transmission and Distribution Rate Applications and Leave to Construct Projects”. The Board is seeking comments on the proposed filing requirements by August 4, 2006. Subsequently, the Board will finalize the document, which will then establish the minimum amount of information required by the Board for these types of applications.
Comments (August 22-06)
+ MAADs Forms – Mergers, Amalgamations, Acquisitions and Divestitures
Forms for applications made under section 86 of the OEB Act (change of ownership and/or control of systems):
Form for filing notice of proposals under sections 80 and 81 of the OEB Act (generation, transmission and distribution ownership prohibition):
+ Ontario Price Credit
Sets out the dates on which the IESO, Distributors and Participating Retailers must make certain payments relating to the Ontario Price Credit.
+ Retail Settlement Code
Sets out the minimum obligations that an electricity distributor and retailer must meet in determining the financial settlement costs of electricity retailers and consumers in facilitating service transaction requests where a competitive retailer provides service to a consumer.
- Appendix C – Service Agreement
- Self-Certification Statement 2
- Letter confirming its October 11, 2006 determination that the current provisions of the Retail Settlement Code (RSC) in relation to load customers and the amendments to the RSC contained in the Board’s Notice of Amendments to the Distribution System Code and the RSC issued on October 31, 2006 are appropriate.
+ Smart Meter Funding and Cost Recovery
Sets out filing instructions in relation to the funding of, and the recovery of costs associated with, smart meter activities conducted by electricity distributors. It reflects amendments to a number of smart metering regulations that were enacted on June 25, 2008 as well as the direction provided by the Board in its combined proceeding on smart meter costs (proceeding EB-2007-0063). It also includes a synthesis of the practices that have emerged from recent decisions of the Board.
Guideline – Smart Meter Funding and Cost Recovery
- Cover Letter (Oct 22-08)
+ Smart Sub-Metering Code
Sets out the minimum conditions and standards that a licensed smart sub-metering provider must meet when providing smart sub-metering services on behalf of exempt distributors.
+ Standard Supply Service Code
Sets out the rules that govern the conduct of Ontario electricity distributors in the provision of electricity to consumers connected to their distribution system.
Standard Supply Service Code (revised Apr 23-09)
+ Transmission System Code
Sets out the minimum standards that an electricity transmitter must meet in designing, constructing, managing and operating its transmission system. The code also sets out the requirements, standards, terms and conditions of a transmitter’s obligations to connect consumers to the transmission system, including performance standards, technical requirements and expansions and connections.
Transmission System Code (revised Oct 20-09)
- Appendix 1, Version A (load customers)
- Appendix 1, Version B (generator customers)
- Appendix 2
- Appendix 3
- Appendix 4
- Appendix 5
- Report on Risk Assessment Methodology Options – March 30, 2000
Amendments to the Transmission System Code
The Board published a revised Transmission System Code on July 25, 2005, and again on October 20, 2009.
For more information about the July 25, 2005 changes to the Transmission System Code click here.
For more information about the October 20, 2009 changes to the Transmission System Code click here.
Accounting Procedures for Natural Gas and Electricity
+ Accounting Procedures Handbook
+ Uniform System of Accounts for Class “A” Gas Utilities
Sets out the latest changes in accounting and regulatory practices and terminology. This USOA has been refined to accommodate the deregulated natural gas environment, as well as regulated and non-regulated activities of gas utilities.
+ Prescribed Interest Rates for Electricity and Gas Accounts
Nov 28, 2006 — the Board approved a methodology to prescribe interest rates for regulatory accounts under the Uniform System of Accounts for natural gas utilities and electricity LDCs. These prescribed interest rates also apply to the accounts of other rate-regulated entities if approved by the Board.
Reporting & Record-Keeping
+ Electricity Reporting and Record Keeping Requirements
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