OEB Publishes Compliance Report for Fiscal Year 2021-2022

As Ontario’s independent regulator of the electricity and natural gas sectors, one of our jobs is to establish and enforce the rules that regulated electricity and natural gas companies follow to protect consumers and ensure the energy sector operates in a way that is fair, transparent, and accountable. Our goal is to promote a sustainable and efficient energy sector, for today and tomorrow, and our compliance and enforcement work is integral to this effort.

The Compliance Report is an overview of compliance activities undertaken over the past fiscal year (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022) to protect consumers and promote compliance by regulated companies with their legal and regulatory requirements. It provides information on how we undertake our compliance work and reports on significant compliance actions.

During fiscal year 2021-2022:

  • 995 complaints were received from consumers
  • 491 consumer complaints were escalated for action after potential compliance issues were identified
  • 47 compliance reviews were completed, most were initiated due to consumer complaints
  • 40 inspections were completed, resulting in:
    • $235,200 in administrative penalties paid under Assurances of Voluntary Compliance
    • $1,123,610 returned directly to affected consumers
    • $85,000 in additional utility funds paid into the Low-income Energy Assistance Program - Emergency Financial Assistance funding for low-income consumers facing disconnection or already disconnected

None of the above amounts were recoverable from utility ratepayers.

Our Compliance Report demonstrates the OEB’s commitment to protecting consumers by building a culture of compliance across the energy sector while ensuring the compliance process is balanced and fair. As the independent regulator for the energy sector, the OEB protects the interests of millions of electricity and natural gas consumers and oversees the conduct and operations of a number of energy sector participants including those that generate, transmit, distribute, and retail energy across the province.” 

- Harneet Panesar, COO

Resources: 

•    Compliance Report (April 2021 – March 2022) (pdf)
•    Compliance Report (April 2021 – September 2021) (pdf)
•    Learn more about the OEB’s consumer protection work