ONTARIO ENERGY BOARD

IN THE MATTER OF the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 15, Sch. B;

AND IN THE MATTER OF an application by Enbridge Gas Inc., for an order or orders for gas distribution rate changes related to compliance obligations under the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, S.C. 2018, c. 12, s. 186.

APPLICATION

  1. Enbridge Gas Inc. (“Enbridge Gas”), the Applicant, was formed by the amalgamation of Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. and Union Gas Limited on January 1, 2019 pursuant to the Ontario Business Corporations Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. B. 16. Enbridge Gas carries on the business of distributing, transmitting and storing natural gas within Ontario.

  2. On June 21, 2018, the Budget Implementation Act, 2018, No. 1 received Royal Assent. Included in Part V is the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, S.C. 2018, c. 12, s. 186 ("GGPPA"). Under the GGPPA, a federal carbon pricing program ("FCPP") applies to any province or territory that requested it or that did not have an equivalent carbon pricing system in place by January 1, 2019. On October 23, 2018, the federal government confirmed that the GGPPA would apply to Ontario.

  3. 3. The FCPP is composed of two elements: (i) a charge on fossil fuels (the “Federal Carbon Charge”) imposed on distributors, importers and producers effective April 1, 2019 and increasing each year on April 1; and (ii) an Output-Based Pricing System (“OBPS”) for prescribed industrial facilities effective January 1, 2019. Enbridge Gas’s operations as an integrated natural gas utility in Ontario fall under the purview of the GGPPA, which result in the following costs being incurred:

    1. Incremental administration and program costs;