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EPCOR has applied to the Ontario Energy Board to raise its natural gas rates, effective January 1, 2023. If the application is approved as filed, the amount EPCOR charges a typical residential customer and a typical commercial customer in its South Bruce service area would increase by the following yearly amounts:
- Existing Residential: $4.47 per year
- New Residential: $4.53 per year
- Small Commercial: $2.37 per year
The requested rate increase is set using an OEB-approved formula which is tied to inflation and other factors intended to promote efficiency. The rate increase also includes EPCOR's request to recover from customers the balances in certain deferral and variance accounts.
EPCOR has also applied to establish a new variance account called the Customer Volume Variance Account, to track the variance in revenue from January 2020 to December 2028, resulting from the difference between forecasted customer volume and the actual customer volume for residential and small commercial customers.
Other customers may also be affected. It is important to review the application carefully to determine whether you may be affected by these changes.
The Ontario Energy Board will hold a public hearing
The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) will hold a public hearing to consider the application filed by EPCOR. During the hearing, which could be an oral or written hearing, the OEB will question EPCOR about its application. The OEB will also hear questions and arguments from individuals that have registered to participate (called intervenors) in the hearing. At the end of this hearing, the OEB will decide what, if any, rate increase will be allowed.
The OEB is an independent and impartial public agency. It makes decisions that serve the public interest. Its goal is to promote a financially viable and efficient energy sector that provides customers with reliable energy services at a reasonable cost.
Be informed and have your say
You have the right to information regarding this application and to be involved in the process.
- You can review
EPCOR’s application.
- You can file a letter with your comments, which will be considered during the hearing.
- You can become an intervenor. As an intervenor you can ask questions about EPCOR's application and make arguments on whether the OEB should approve the request.
Apply to be an intervenor by August 24, 2022, or the hearing will go ahead without you and you will not receive any further notice of the proceeding.
- At the end of the process, review the OEB's decision and its reasons on its website.
The OEB intends to consider cost awards in this proceeding that are in accordance with the
Practice Direction on Cost Awards and only in relation to EPCOR's request to establish the Customer Volume Variance Account.
Learn more
Our file number for this case is
EB-2022-0184. To learn more about this hearing, find instructions on how to file a letter with your comments or become an intervenor, or to access any document related to this case, please enter the file number EB-2022-0184 on the
OEB website. You can also phone the Consumer Relations Centre at
1 (877) 632-2727 with any questions.
Oral vs. Written hearings
There are two types of OEB hearings: oral and written. EPCOR has asked for a written hearing. If you think an oral hearing is needed, you can write to the OEB to explain why by August 24, 2022.
Privacy
If you write a letter of comment, your name and the content of your letter will be put on the public record and the OEB website. However, your personal telephone number, home address and email address will be removed. If you are a business, all your information will remain public. If you apply to become an intervenor, all information will be public.
