Minister’s directive

To: The Ontario Energy Board

I, Greg Rickford, Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, hereby amend or revoke the directives in the manner specified below and otherwise direct the Ontario Energy Board (Board) as follows, pursuant to my authority under sections 27.1 and 27.2 of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998:

  1. Paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 of the directive to the Board approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under Order-in-Council No. 467/2014 dated March 26, 2014 (March 2014 Directive) are revoked.
  2. Paragraph 4 of the March 2014 Directive is amended by revoking and replacing sub-paragraph 4 (iii) with the following:
    1. that Gas Distributors shall, where appropriate, coordinate and integrate DSM programs with CDM programs delivered by the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) and, where appropriate, licensed electricity distributors (Distributors), to achieve efficiencies and convenient integrated programs for electricity and natural gas customers.
  3. Paragraph 4 of the March 2014 Directive is amended by revoking and replacing sub-paragraph 4 (iv) with the following:
    1. that Gas Distributors shall, where appropriate, coordinate and integrate low-income DSM programs with low-income CDM programs delivered by the IESO and, where appropriate, Distributors.
  4. Paragraph 4 of the March 2014 Directive is amended by revoking and replacing sub-paragraph 4 (vi) with the following:
    1. that an achievable potential study for natural gas efficiency in Ontario should be conducted every three-years, with the first study completed by June 1, 2016, to inform natural gas efficiency planning and programs. The achievable potential study should, as far as is appropriate and reasonable having regard to the respective characteristics of the natural gas and electricity sectors, be coordinated with the IESO with regard to the IESO’s requirement to conduct an electricity efficiency achievable potential study in 2019.
  5. In all other respects, the March 2014 Directive shall remain in full force and effect, provided that nothing in this directive shall be construed as requiring the Board to modify the DSM Framework referred to in paragraph 4 of the March 2014 Directive or any orders or directions issued by the Board thereunder or in relation thereto to natural gas distributors whose rates are regulated by the Board.
  6. The directive to the Board approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council under Order-in-Council No. 2123/2017 dated October 25, 2017 is revoked.
  7. For greater certainty, the Board may amend, with or without holding a hearing at such time and manner that the Board considers appropriate, the licence of each licensed electricity distributor to amend or remove the conditions in respect of electricity conservation and demand management that were established pursuant to a previous directive to the Board as approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.

Order in Council 378/2019