What We Achieved
The inaugural year of the Canada Energy Regulator was a time of transition for the organization and its Commission.
Reflecting back on the year, the most significant achievement of the Commission was its seamless transition to the CER. On day one of the CER, the new Commissioners took over all adjudicative matters from the former Members of the National Energy Board (NEB) and, after allowing an opportunity to get acquainted with the record on each matter, advanced all adjudicative processes within the original legislated timelines.
While Commissioners arrived with considerable knowledge and adjudicative experience, they needed time to familiarize themselves with the new organization, its culture and its staff – all of whom were also adjusting to the new CER and its governance structure.
With support from CER staff, Commissioners participated in an onboarding program on areas relevant to the fulfillment of their broad range of adjudicative responsibilities under the CER Act, National Energy Board Act3 (NEB Act) and other relevant statutes. The onboarding program covered topics including financial regulation, environmental assessment, Indigenous and administrative law, lifecycle regulation, and a wide range of technical, scientific and engineering matters that underpin the CER’s regulatory functions.
Additionally, all Commissioners achieved full compliance with the new and more robust conflict of interest provisions found in both the Conflict of Interest Act4 and the CER Act.
Over the course of the 2019-20 fiscal year, Commissioners adjudicated hundreds of applications for pipelines, powerlines, tolls and tariffs, export/import licences, financial resources assessments and compliance activities on existing energy infrastructure. These included existing applications that the CER inherited from the NEB and new applications received by the CER from applicants. In total, the Commission issued:
- 40 Infrastructure decisions;
- 14 Tolls and Tariffs decisions;
- 493 Export and Import decisions;
- 31 Exploration and Production decisions;
- 16 other decisions and
- 45 Leave to Open orders.
All pipeline companies are required to follow the Canadian Energy Regulator Onshore Pipeline Regulations,5 which include a systematic approach to pipeline management, including abandonment. The Commission reviews applications to abandon pipelines (s.241 of the CER Act) and also ensures that companies have sufficient funds to pay for the eventual abandonment of pipelines (s.242 of the CER Act).
In its first year of existence, Commissioners focused on supporting the successful transition of the organization and on forming a track record of adjudicative excellence…
Companies’ management of financial resources includes the proactive management of their obligations relating to the set aside and collection of abandonment funds. The Commission reviews and assesses companies’ abandonment cost estimates, which must be submitted every 5 years, and ensures that financial instruments are in place for those funds.
Canadians can be confident that the resources required to properly abandon pipelines are assessed and set aside for that purpose.
A comprehensive list of Commission regulatory activities is provided in the appendices section of this Report.
In its first year of existence, Commissioners focused on supporting the successful transition of the organization and on forming a track record of adjudicative excellence – stewarding every application through the appropriate review within the required timelines. It is also worth noting that in the course of this adjudicative work, every Commissioner chaired a panel.
The Commission also recognized that the momentum established during its first year would not have been possible without the support of the staff of the CER, and for that, it is most appreciative.
To learn more about work in 2019-20 of the Canada Energy Regulator as a whole, please see the 2019-20 Annual Report of the Canada Energy Regulator.
