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Posted in: Canada (Federal) | Practice & Procedure | British Columbia | Facilities

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NEB Agrees to Consider Whether Pipeline Serving LNG Canada Project Requires NEB Approval By David Stevens Nov 12, 2018 In late October 2018, the National Energy Board issued a letter indicating that the NEB will consider a jurisdictional challenge over whether the NEB must approve the Coastal GasLink Pipeline that would serve the recently-confirmed LNG Canada project.

Posted in: Ontario | Ratemaking | Facilities

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Ontario Proposes New Approach for Expansion of Natural Gas to Unserved Communities By David Stevens Oct 22, 2018 The Ontario government recently proposed amendments to the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 (OEB Act) that are intended to support the expansion of natural gas service to unserved communities. The amendments will provide “rate protection” for consumers where the gas distributor makes investments to...

Posted in: Energy Storage | Facilities | Ontario | Energy Policy

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Ontario Decides Not to Implement New Regulations to Support Expanded Net Metering By David Stevens Oct 03, 2018 A recent Notice from the Ontario government indicates that the planned amendments to Ontario’s Net Metering Regulation under the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 will not proceed as planned. The result is that the amendments that were planned for October 1st have been revoked. Instead, the Notice i...

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Federal Court of Appeal Quashes Cabinet Approval of Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion By David Stevens and Matthew Helfand Sep 05, 2018 On August 30, 2018, the Federal Court of Appeal released its decision in the matter of Tsleil-Waututh Nation et al. v. Attorney General of Canada et al. In this decision, the court has quashed Cabinet’s approval of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

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Nova Scotia Utility Withdraws from Tidal Generation Project By David Stevens Aug 16, 2018 Recent events seem to signal the end of the Cape Sharp Tidal project. As previously discussed, Cape Sharp Tidal has been a joint venture between Ireland-based OpenHydro and Nova Scotia Power affiliate Emera, created to deploy two 2MW tidal turbines in Minas Passage at the Fundy Ocean Research Cen...

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New Ontario Government Introduces Hydro One Accountability Act By Zoë Thoms and Peter Dalglish Jul 24, 2018 On July 16, 2018, the Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines Greg Rickford introduced Bill 2, Urgent Priorities Act, 2018, into the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. The bill marks the first major piece of legislation tabled by the new Progressive Conservative government, and directly ...

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Ontario Cancels Renewable Energy Projects and Introduces White Pines Wind Project Termination Act, 2018 By Zoë Thoms and Stan Fedun Jul 19, 2018 On July 5, 2018, Ontario’s newly-appointed Minister of Energy, Development and Mines, Greg Rickford, issued a Directive (1003/2018) pursuant to subsections 25.32(5) and (11) of the Electricity Act, 1998 to the Independent Electricity System Operator to immediately wind down all Feed-In Tariff and...

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Ontario to Cancel White Pines Wind Project By David Stevens Jul 11, 2018 On July 10, 2018, the Ontario government announced its three “top legislative priorities” for the upcoming summer sitting of the legislature. Two of these have energy implications. First, the Ontario government is cancelling the Cap and Trade Program. Second, the Ontario government also announced...

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Nova Scotia Regulator Approves Smart Meter Project By David Stevens and David Mba Jun 18, 2018 Almost a year after receiving Nova Scotia Power Incorporated’s application, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board has approved the $133.2 million Advanced Metering Infrastructure project that is expected to see the installation of 500,000 digital smart meters in Nova Scotia by 2020.

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Petronas Invests in British Columbia LNG Project By Zoë Thoms and Peter Dalglish Jun 08, 2018 Less than a year after cancelling the $36-billion Pacific Northwest LNG megaproject in British Columbia, Petronas announced on May 31, 2018, that one of its wholly-owned entities will assume a 25 per cent stake of the LNG Canada project located in Kitimat, B.C.

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Alberta Passes Bill 12 Allowing Province to Restrict Exports of Oil and Gas to B.C. By Zoë Thoms May 18, 2018 The Alberta government passed Bill 12 – Preserving Canada’s Economic Prosperity Act on May 16, 2018, giving the province the ability to limit the export of oil and gas from the province. Bill 12 is aimed squarely at the Government of British Columbia’s opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline pr...

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Federal Government to Intervene in B.C.’s TransMountain Reference Case By David Stevens May 04, 2018 On May 3, 2018, the federal Minister of Justice Jody Wilson-Raybould announced that the federal government will intervene in the British Columbia government’s reference question to the B.C. Court of Appeal. The Justice Minister indicated that “[w]e are confident in Parliament’s jurisdiction and w...

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B.C. Government Asks Court of Appeal to Affirm Right to Limit Bitumen Shipments Through the Province By Zoë Thoms Apr 27, 2018 The Government of British Columbia submitted a reference question to the B.C. Court of Appeal regarding the recently-announced regulations that will stop pipeline companies from increasing bitumen shipments through the province. The government is looking for the court to affirm its jurisdiction t...

Posted in: Practice & Procedure | Ontario | Facilities

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OEB Selects EPCOR to Provide Gas Distribution Service to South Bruce Municipalities By David Stevens Apr 20, 2018 On April 12, 2018, the Ontario Energy Board issued a Decision and Order in a proceeding to select a gas distributor to serve South Bruce municipalities (Municipality of Arran-Elderslie, the Municipality of Kincardine and the Township of Huron-Kinloss). The OEB chose EPCOR Southern Bruce Gas Inc.,...

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Uncertainty Leads to Suspension of Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion By David Stevens Apr 10, 2018 On April 8, 2018, Kinder Morgan Canada Limited announced that it is “suspending all non-essential activities and related spending on the Trans Mountain Expansion Project.” Kinder Morgan noted that while it has the support of the federal, Alberta and Saskatchewan governments for the project, it fa...

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OEB Issues its Final Report on Wireline Pole Attachment Charges By David Stevens Mar 26, 2018 On March 22, 2018, the Ontario Energy Board issued its Final Report on Wireline Pole Attachment Charges setting the amount that telecom carriers will pay to attach to electricity poles. In the Final Report, the OEB has set a province-wide charge of $43.63 per pole/per attacher/per year.

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OEB Varies Prior Decision Related to Sharing Property Sale Proceeds With Ratepayers By David Stevens Mar 01, 2018 On February 22, 2018, the Ontario Energy Board issued a Decision and Order reversing certain determinations made by a prior OEB panel about the sharing of proceeds from a property sale. This Review Motion Decision is the conclusion of a very lengthy motion to review and vary a July 2016 OEB Decis...

Posted in: Facilities | Ontario | Energy Policy

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Ontario Issues Canada’s Largest Green Bond By David Stevens Feb 20, 2018 On February 14, the Ontario government announced that it had successfully issued a $1 billion green bond. This is the fourth green bond issued by the Government of Ontario, following three successful earlier green bond issuances: a $500 million four-year issue in 2014, a $750 million seven-year i...

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Legislation Introduced to Replace the NEB and Project Review Process By David Stevens Feb 14, 2018 On February 8, 2018, the federal government released Bill C-69 titled “An Act to enact the Impact Assessment Act and the Canadian Energy Regulator Act, to amend the Navigation Protection Act and to make consequential amendments to other Acts.” The new legislation is the culmination of the promise...

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British Columbia Announces New Regulations That May Stop Trans Mountain Pipeline Expansion By David Stevens Feb 02, 2018 On January 30, 2018, the British Columbia Minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy announced that the province would introduce new regulations that will stop pipeline companies from increasing bitumen shipments. The justification for the new regulations is to given the province time to...

Posted in: Facilities | Canada (Federal) | Ratemaking

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NEB Denies Request for a Proposed Long-Term Load Retention Service By David Stevens Jan 31, 2018 On January 22, 2018, the National Energy Board released a letter decision denying an application by Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline for approval of a load retention service and reduced toll to Irving Oil Ltd.

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OEB Issues Its Largest Rate Case Decision Ever By David Stevens Jan 18, 2018 On December 28, 2017, the Ontario Energy Board (OEB) issued its Decision with Reasons in the Ontario Power Generation “Payment Amounts” case, covering the 2017 to 2021 period. Among the notable determinations are an approval of the forecast costs of the Darlington Refurbishment Project and reduct...

Posted in: Ontario | Practice & Procedure | Facilities

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Ontario Court of Appeal Finds That Gas Utility’s Franchise Agreement Prevails Over Drainage Act By David Stevens Jan 16, 2018 In a decision released on January 10, 2018, the Ontario Court of Appeal found in favour of Union Gas on the question of whether the cost sharing provisions of a model franchise agreement apply to the relocation of a gas pipeline necessitated by drainage works. The Court found that the provisions ...

Posted in: British Columbia | Facilities | Energy Policy

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B.C. Decides to Move Ahead with Site C Dam By David Stevens and Nicholas Smith Dec 13, 2017 The Government of British Columbia has decided to proceed with construction of the Site C Dam following its review of the BC Utilities Commission (BCUC) Final Report. In an announcement made on December 11, 2017, Premier John Horgan expressed the difficulty faced by the NDP government in coming t...

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