Company Performance
The National Energy Board (NEB) holds its regulated companies accountable for meeting regulatory requirements and project-specific conditions to prevent incidents and provide for the safety of Canadians and the protection of the environment during the construction, operation and abandonment phases of a project lifecycle. This includes requirements for companies to have adequate funds for abandonment. The NEB undertakes risk-based Compliance Verification Activities (CVAs) to determine company compliance with regulatory requirements in the technical areas of security, environmental protection, pipeline integrity, safety management, damage prevention, rights and interests, and financial regulation.
The NEB uses several measures to help us ascertain that regulated companies operate their facilities in compliance with both regulations and project-specific conditions.
Expected Company Performance Program Outcomes…
- Regulated companies operate facilities in compliance with regulatory requirements and project-specific conditions throughout the full lifecycle.
- The NEB learns from non-compliances and all incidents and uses this information to drive company performance through risk-informed CVAs (based on incident root cause analysis, company performance and consequence modelling).
- Regulated companies have adequate funds to pay for pipeline abandonment.
… to support the prevention of harm to people or the environment throughout the lifecycle of energy-related activities.
96% of conditions on facility authorizations met.
Percentage compliance with conditions attached to facility authorizations, to ensure that companies comply with the timelines and adequacy of condition filings.
- Target 100%
- Results
2016-17 No Results - Results
2017-18 96%
Percentage of non-compliances and corrective actions implemented within timelines, to ensure that the NEB is actively bringing companies into compliance in a timely manner.
- Target 90%
- Results
2016-17 81% - Results
2017-18 61%
Percentage of financial compliance audit findings addressed within timelines, to ensure that non-compliances are addressed in a timely manner.
- Target 100%
- Results
2016-17 100% - Results
2017-18 100%
Percentage of non-compliances that are determined to be repeat, to determine the effectiveness of the NEB’s targeted oversight on compliance-related trends and issues.
- Target 0%
- Results
2016-17 (measure not in effect) - Results
2017-18 11%
Generally, company performance on these measures is strong. The NEB’s data does show repeat non-compliances occurring, with a total of 29 incidents of repeats in 2017-18. Staff assessment identified that the repeat non-compliances have been generally low-consequence items, such as missing or expired fire extinguisher tags. We will continue to monitor against any rise in repeat non-compliances.
Better Whistleblower Processes
In recent years, the number of validated confidential disclosures or ‘whistleblower’ reports received by the NEB from industry has been increasing – from 6 in 2012 to 8 in 2014, 9 in 2015 and 10 in 2016.
Whistleblower programs are valuable tools for organizations and regulators to receive reports of misconduct or non-compliances. The NEB understands that whistleblowing can be difficult and stressful – especially if a worker is unsure whether a particular incident or allegation is reportable – and so it is important to have procedures that protect the confidentiality and anonymity of disclosures and the identity of tipsters to the greatest extent possible.
The NEB has reviewed its existing whistleblower procedures over the last year to ensure it is handling these types of disclosures and discussions in the best possible way. As a result, we produced a guidance document that clearly outlines for the public what to report, how to report, and follow-up or courses of action (if applicable). In addition, as of April 2017, the NEB retained a confidential reporting service to accept anonymous disclosures on the NEB’s behalf. All information reported is collected, stored and managed in a secure manner.
73% of incidents are closed within the target timeframes
Percentage of incident reviews closed within timelines, so that we can use cause data to inform our compliance activities.
- Target 80%
- Results
2016-17 17% - Results
2017-18 73%
Percentage of risk-informed CVAs targeted towards key incident trends, to understand the effectiveness of the NEB CVAs that are targeted toward key incidents above and beyond our risk-based verification model.
- Target 50%
- Results
2016-17 No Results - Results
2017-18 18%
292 compliance activities, including 126 inspections,
were completed in 2017-18.
A total of 23 activities (17 inspections) were targeted
towards a key incident trend of worker safety or OBDLs.
For companies using a trust, percentage of companies that set aside the cumulative Annual Contribution Amounts (ACA) equal to or greater than the most recent cumulative planned ACA.
- Target 100%
- Results
2016-17 71% - Results
2017-18 85%
For companies using a letter of credit or surety bond, percentage of companies maintaining a letter of credit or surety bond that covers Abandonment Cost Estimate.
- Target 100%
- Results
2016-17 98% - Results
2017-18 100%
Compliance, and the NEB’s role in ensuring that companies are compliant with regulation, extends past the operating life of a pipeline. The NEB has mandated that regulated companies have adequate funds to pay for pipeline abandonment. We monitor this actively, and follow up with companies that have less than required.