Section 57(c) of the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998 provides that no person is permitted to generate electricity or provide ancillary services for sale through the IESO-administered markets or directly to another person without a licence.
There are certain exemptions from the requirement to hold an electricity generation licence. One of those exemptions is that a person who owns or operates one or more facilities each with a total name plate capacity of 500 kilowatts or less is exempt from the need to obtain an electricity generation licence.
For each licence application filed with the OEB, the applicant must submit a non-refundable application fee of:
- $100 for an applicant with a name plate capacity of 10.0 megawatts or less;
OR - $1000 for an applicant with a name plate capacity of more than 10.0 megawatts;
OR - $200 for an applicant with a name plate capacity of more than 10.0 megawatts applying to renew its electricity generation licence and has paid its annual registration fee.
Unless exempt, a licensee must pay an annual registration fee for every year of its licence. For licensees with a capacity of more than 10.0 megawatts, there is an annual registration fee of $800. For licensees with a capacity of 10.0 megawatts or less, there is no annual registration fee.
- Annual Registration Fee Exemption (capacity of 10.0 megawatts or less) (pdf)
- Letter - Reduced Licence Fees for Generators with a Capacity of 10.0 megawatts or Less (pdf)
Online Licence Application Form
The OEB has launched a new, online portal for filing licence applications, a key commitment in the OEB’s Digital First strategy. The portal is now open to file Electricity Generation licence applications online and use a new e-payment service. Note: as of July 19, 2022, PDF application forms will no longer be accepted.
Current licensees (July 19, 2022): An account has been created for your Primary Licence Contact to access the portal. The Primary Licence Contact will receive an email from OEB Webmaster asking for a password to be created. Please do this step right away to complete the registration.
For questions about the application filing process, contact IndustryRelations@oeb.ca.
Licensees must comply with conditions set out in their licence.
For a list of active licensees and a list of current applicants, click on the links below:
If you require an amendment to your electricity generation licence, please use the following link for more information about applications for licence amendments.