Ontario Energy Board Amendment Act, 2008 Ramsay, David — Bill 131 (39th Parliament, 1st Session)

Bill 131, 39-1

Ontario — Bills

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Bill 131, Ontario Energy Board Amendment Act, 2008

Ramsay, David

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[39] Bill 131 Original (PDF)

Bill 131 2008

An Act to amend

the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 with respect to retailers of electricity and

gas marketers

Note:

This Act amends the Ontario

Energy Board Act, 1998 . For the legislative history of the Act,

see the Table of Consolidated Public Statutes – Detailed Legislative History on

www.e-Laws.gov.on.ca.

Her

Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

1. The Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 is amended by

adding the following sections:

Prohibition, contracts by mailed cheque

88.7 No

retailer of electricity or gas marketer shall enter into a contract with a

consumer by means of mail solicitation proposing the cashing of a cheque mailed

to the consumer by the retailer or marketer.

Contract with consumer, electricity retail

88.8

(1) No

retailer of electricity shall enter into a contract with a consumer other than

a consumer whose name appears on a bill issued by the distributor who owns or

operates a system for distributing electricity to the consumer.

Contract with consumer, gas marketing

(2) No gas marketer shall enter into a contract with a

consumer other than a consumer whose name appears on a bill issued by the

distributor who delivers gas to the consumer.

Authorized representative

(3) If the name of the consumer on a bill referred to in

subsection (1) or (2) includes the name of an authorized representative of the

consumer, a contract described in subsection (1) or (2) may only be entered

into with the consumer and the authorized representative.

(1) Subsections 88.9 (1), (2),

(3) and (4) of the Act are repealed and the following substituted:

Written copy of contract and reaffirmation letter

(1) If a retailer of electricity or gas marketer enters

into a contract with a consumer, the retailer of electricity or gas marketer

shall deliver the following documents together to the consumer within 40 days

after the consumer signs the contract:

1. A

written copy of the contract.

2. A

written copy of the reaffirmation letter setting out the information described

in subsection (4.2).

Contract ceases to have effect

(2) If a retailer of electricity or gas marketer fails to

deliver the documents described in subsection (1) in accordance with that

subsection, the contract ceases to have effect.

Reaffirmation of contract

(3) If the documents described in subsection (1) have been

delivered to a consumer in accordance with subsection (1), the contract ceases

to have effect unless it is reaffirmed by the consumer in accordance with this

section before the 61st day following the day on which the documents are

delivered to the consumer.

Consumer to take steps to reaffirm

(4) A consumer may reaffirm a contract only by signing the

reaffirmation letter and delivering it to the retailer of electricity or the

gas marketer, as the case may be, in accordance with subsection (3).

(2) Section 88.9 of the Act is amended

by adding the following subsection:

Contents of reaffirmation letter

(4.2) The reaffirmation letter shall set out the following

information:

1. In

the case of a contract proposed by a retailer of electricity for the provision

of electricity,

i. a

statement, in not less than 12 point bold type, of,

A. the price to be paid under the new contract for

the provision of electricity, expressed per kilowatt hour of electricity,

B. if the consumer already purchases electricity from

a retailer of electricity under another contract, the penalty that would be

payable by the consumer if that contract is cancelled,

C. if the consumer already purchases electricity from

a retailer of electricity under another contract, the price that the consumer

currently pays for the provision of electricity, expressed per kilowatt hour of

electricity, and

D. the price that would be payable by the consumer

for the provision of electricity if the consumer purchases electricity directly

from the distributor who owns or operates a system for distributing electricity

to the consumer, expressed per kilowatt hour of electricity, and

ii. a

statement, immediately adjacent to the information referred to in subparagraph

i, that is signed by the consumer and indicates that the consumer acknowledges

having read the information referred to in subparagraph i.

2. In

the case of a contract proposed by a gas marketer for the provision of gas,

i. a

statement, in not less than 12 point bold type, of,

A. the price to be paid under the new contract for

the provision of gas, expressed per cubic metre of gas,

B. if the consumer already purchases gas from a gas

marketer under another contract, the penalty that would be payable by the

consumer if that contract is cancelled,

C. if the consumer already purchases gas from a gas

marketer under another contract, the price that the consumer currently pays for

the provision of gas, expressed per cubic metre of gas, and

D. the price that would be payable by the consumer

for the provision of gas if the consumer purchases gas directly from the

distributor who delivers gas to the consumer, expressed per cubic metre of gas,

and

ii. a

statement, immediately adjacent to the information referred to in subparagraph

i, that is signed by the consumer and indicates that the consumer acknowledges

having read the information referred to in subparagraph i.

(3) Paragraph 2 of subsection 88.9

(16) of the Act is repealed.

3. The Act is amended by adding the following

sections:

Contents of bill, electricity

88.13

(1) A

retailer of electricity shall ensure that a bill for the provision of

electricity sets out the price to be paid for the electricity per kilowatt hour

of electricity.

Contents of bill, gas

(2) A gas marketer shall ensure that a bill for the provision

of gas sets out the price to be paid for the gas per cubic metre of gas.

Prohibition, cancellation fees on moving

88.14 Despite

any agreement to the contrary, no retailer of electricity or gas marketer shall

charge a consumer a fee for the cancellation of a contract if the consumer

cancels the contract because he or she no longer resides at the property for

which the electricity or gas was purchased under the contract.

Commencement

4. This Act comes into force six months after

the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

5. The

short title of this Act is the Ontario Energy Board Amendment

Act, 2008 .

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The

Bill amends the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 with respect to retailers of

electricity and gas marketers as follows:

Retailers

of electricity and gas marketers are prohibited from entering into contracts

with consumers by means of mail solicitation proposing the cashing of a cheque

by a consumer.

Retailers

of electricity and gas marketers are prohibited from entering into contracts

with consumers other than consumers whose names appear on a bill issued by the

distributor of electricity or gas.

Section

88.9 of the Act is amended to provide that a retailer of electricity or a gas

marketer who enters into a contract with a consumer must deliver, in addition

to a written copy of the contract, a written copy of a reaffirmation letter.

The reaffirmation letter, which is the only means by which the consumer may

reaffirm the contract, must contain specific information, including the

following: the price the consumer would pay under the new contract, any cancellation

fees that the consumer would owe to another retailer or marketer upon reaffirming

the contract, the price that the consumer currently pays to another retailer or

marketer, and the price that the consumer would pay if the consumer purchases

electricity or gas directly from the distributor of electricity or gas.

bill issued for the provision of electricity or gas by a retailer of

electricity or gas marketer must set out the price to be paid by the consumer

for each unit of electricity or gas.

Retailers

of electricity and gas marketers are prohibited from charging consumers

cancellation fees in circumstances where the consumer cancels a contract

because he or she no longer resides at the property for which the electricity

or gas was purchased.

Date Bill stage Activity Committee

December 11, 2008

Ordered referred to Standing Committee

Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills

December 11, 2008

Second Reading

Carried

December 11, 2008

Second Reading

Debate

November 20, 2008

First Reading

Carried

Debates and Progress

First Reading

November 20, 2008

Committee

Second Reading

December 11, 2008

Mr. David Ramsay, Mr. John Yakabuski, Mr. Peter Tabuns, Mr. Bob Delaney, Mr. Bill Mauro, Mr. Tony Ruprecht, Mr. Mario Sergio

December 11, 2008

Declared carried. Referred to the Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills.

Committee

Standing Committee on Regulations and Private Bills

Third Reading

Royal Assent :

Coming into force :

4. This Act comes into force six months after the day it receives Royal Assent.

Acts affected - Bill 131

Most Ontario public acts are available electronically; to view copies of the Acts to be amended by this bill visit e-laws

Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

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Document details

Collection	Ontario — Bills
Citation	Bill 131, 39-1
Type	bill
Volume / chapter	p39 s1 bill 131 html
Language	en
Format	html
Source	PROVINCIAL
Identifier	2ab77a9faaa93e2ecaa4df534da2eb9e862dc5cd

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