Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009 , S.O. 2009, c. 12 - Bill 150

• Jurisdiction: Ontario
• Bill Number: 150
• Date: 14 May 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Explanatory Note was written as a reader’s aid to Bill 150 and does not form part of the law. Bill 150 has been enacted as Chapter 12 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2009.

The Bill enacts the Green Energy Act, 2009 and amends and repeals various Acts. The major elements of the Bill are described below.

SCHEDULE A
Green Energy Act, 2009

Schedule A enacts the Green Energy Act, 2009 and repeals the Energy Conservation Leadership Act, 2006 and the Energy Efficiency Act. Many of the provisions of the two repealed statutes are re-enacted in the Green Energy Act, 2009.

Subsection 1 (1) of the Act contains definitions. Subsection 1 (2) is an interpretation section and provides that the Act shall be interpreted in a manner that is consistent with section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 and with the duty to consult aboriginal peoples.

Section 3 provides that a person making an offer to purchase an interest in real property has the right to receive from the person selling the property prescribed information, ratings or reports relating to energy consumption and efficiency. The purchaser may, in writing, waive this right.

Section 4 authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council to designate goods, services and technologies by regulation in order to promote energy conservation. A person is permitted to use designated goods, services and technologies in prescribed circumstances despite a restriction imposed at law that would prevent or restrict their use. This does not, however, apply to a restriction imposed by an Act or regulation.

Section 5 permits the Lieutenant Governor in Council to designate renewable energy projects, renewable energy sources or renewable energy testing projects by regulation to assist in the removal of barriers to and to promote opportunities for the use of renewable energy sources and to promote access to transmission systems and distribution systems for proponents of renewable energy projects.

Section 6 authorizes the Lieutenant Governor in Council, by regulation, to require public agencies and prescribed consumers to establish energy conservation and demand management plans. Section 7 of the Act authorizes two or more public agencies to establish, publish and administer a joint energy conservation and demand management plan.

The Lieutenant Governor in Council may, by regulation, require public agencies to consider energy conservation and energy efficiency when acquiring goods and services and when making capital investments, in section 8 of the Act.

Section 9 authorizes the Minister of Energy to enter into agreements to promote energy conservation and energy efficiency.

The Act sets out guiding principles for the Government of Ontario in constructing, acquiring, operating and managing government facilities. These principles include reporting on energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, ensuring energy efficiency in the planning and design of government facilities, making environmentally and financially responsible investments in government facilities and using renewable energy sources to provide energy for government facilities.

The Act establishes the Renewable Energy Facilitation Office and permits the designation of a Renewable Energy Facilitator. The objects of the Office include facilitating the development of renewable energy projects. The Facilitator is given certain authority to collect information, which is treated as confidential or secret.

Part III of the Act largely re-enacts parts of the Energy Efficiency Act. This Part places restrictions on the sale or lease of regulated appliances or products that do not meet the prescribed efficiency standards or requirements and on the labelling or marking of appliances and products.

Part IV of the Act provides the Lieutenant Governor in Council with regulation-making authority.

schedule b
Electricity Act, 1998

Schedule B enacts changes to the Electricity Act, 1998. Section 1 of the Schedule enacts and repeals and re-enacts a number of definitions consistent with the green energy initiative. These include enacting the definitions of “renewable energy generation facility” and “smart grid” and repealing and re-enacting the definition of “renewable energy source”.

Section 25.11 of the Act, which requires the establishment of the Conservation Bureau within the Ontario Power Authority (the OPA) is repealed. Amendments to the Environmental Bill of Rights in Schedule F require that the Commissioner under that Act make annual reports on energy conservation.

Section 25.32 of the Act is amended to provide the Minister with additional authority to issue directions to the OPA to undertake a request for proposal, any other form of procurement solicitation or any other initiative that relates to the procurement of electricity supply and capacity, including supply and capacity from renewable energy sources, reductions in electricity demand or measures related to conservation or the management of electricity demand. Subsection 25.32 (4.5) permits the Minister to direct the OPA to establish measures to facilitate the participation of aboriginal peoples in the development and implementation of renewable energy generation facilities and transmission and distribution systems. Subsection 25.32 (4.6) enacts a similar measure with respect to community groups and organizations. The Minister may, under subsection 25.32 (4.6), also direct that the OPA establish measures to facilitate the development of renewable energy generation facilities, transmission systems and distribution systems. Subsection 25.32 (4.7) permits the Minister to direct the OPA to develop programs that are designed to reimburse the direct costs incurred by municipalities in order to facilitate the development of renewable energy generation facilities, transmission systems and distribution systems.

Subsections 25.33 (1) and (2) are amended to require the Independent Electricity System Operator (the IESO) to calculate payments in accordance with the regulations for classes of market participants. The scheme requiring distributors and retailers, through their billing systems, to make adjustments to payments to reflect amounts paid is amended to address classes of consumers, rather than simply consumers.

The Act is amended to permit the Minister to direct the OPA to develop a feed-in tariff program, in section 25.35. A feed-in tariff program is a program for procurement that provides standard program rules, standard contracts and standard pricing regarding classes of generation facilities differentiated by energy source or fuel type, generator capacity and the manner by which the generation facility is used, deployed, installed or located.

A new section 25.36 requires transmitters and distributors to connect generation facilities to their transmission systems or distributions systems if specified criteria are satisfied.

A new section 25.37 requires distributors, transmitters, the OPA and the IESO to provide prescribed information about the distribution system’s or transmission system’s ability to accommodate generation from a renewable energy generation facility. Section 26 is amended to require transmitters and distributors to provide priority access to their systems for renewable energy generation facilities that meet prescribed requirements.

There are some technical amendments in section 32 to allow the IESO to make rules with respect to the reliability of electricity service or the IESO-controlled grid.

The Lieutenant Governor in Council is given the power to make regulations governing the smart grid and its implementation by the new section 53.0.1.

There are amendments to the regulation-making authority in section 114 of the Act that are consequential to substantive changes made in the Schedule.

There are amendments to section 144 of the Act that deal with the authority of a municipality to generate electricity other than through a Business Corporations Act corporation.

Schedule C
Ministry of Energy Act

Schedule C amends the Ministry of Energy Act to update its name and other references to reflect the change of the Ministry from the Ministry of Energy to the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure. The Schedule also amends the objectives of the Ministry to include references to infrastructure, growth planning, renewable energy and energy conservation.

Schedule d
Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998

Schedule D amends the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998.

With respect to electricity, the Board’s objectives are amended to include the promotion of the conservation of electricity and demand management, the facilitation of investments to implement a smart grid and the promotion of the use and generation of electricity from renewable energy sources, in subsection 1 (1) of the Act. Similarly, the Board’s objectives with respect to gas are amended to include the promotion of energy conservation and energy efficiency, in section 2 of the Act.

Section 3 of the Act, the definition section, is amended to adopt the definitions of “renewable energy generation facility”, “renewable energy source” and “smart grid” from the Electricity Act, 1998. Some definitions are moved from section 56 as certain defined terms are now used more broadly in the Act.

The Act is amended to require the Board to assess prescribed persons or classes of persons for expenses incurred and expenditures made by the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure in respect of conservation programs or renewable energy programs provided under this Act, the Green Energy Act, 2009, the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure Act and any other Act, in section 26.1. For the purpose of the Financial Administration Act, assessments under section 26.1 are deemed to be money paid to Ontario for special purposes, in section 26.2.

The new section 27.2 allows the Minister, with the approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council, to issue directives to the Board that contain conservation and demand...