Bill 132 explained in plain English
Energy Consumer Protection Amendment Act (Elimination of Fixed Rate Electricity Contracts), 2013
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 40th Parliament, 2nd Session. Representative vote breakdowns appear when the Assembly publishes an Ayes and Nays page for the bill.
Our plain-language take, written for civic education.
Source: By PoliticalData.ca
Bill 132, the Energy Consumer Protection Amendment Act (Elimination of Fixed Rate Electricity Contracts), 2013, would void new and renewed/extended/amended fixed-rate electricity contracts between retailers and consumers and provide consumer protections.
This bill, if passed, would amend the Energy Consumer Protection Act, 2010, to eliminate fixed-rate electricity contracts between retailers and consumers. It would make new fixed-rate contracts entered into after a specified date void, and existing contracts that are renewed, extended, or amended after that date would also become void upon expiration, unless amended to allow for penalty-free cancellation. The bill also provides consumers with protections, such as the right to a refund and freedom from liability under void contracts. Consumers could take legal action to recover money paid under a void contract, potentially receiving double the amount paid.
- Introduces Part II.1 to the Energy Consumer Protection Act, 2010, concerning fixed-rate electricity contracts.
- Declares that fixed-rate electricity contracts entered into on or after the date this subsection comes into force are void.
- Declares that existing fixed-rate electricity contracts that are renewed, extended, or amended on or after the date this subsection comes into force are void on the day the existing contract expires, unless the amendment allows for cancellation without penalty.
- States that consumers are not liable for obligations under a void contract, including cancellation charges, administration charges, or other fees/penalties.
- Prevents any cause of action against a consumer as a result of a contract being void or due to consumer protections related to void contracts.
- Requires retailers to refund consumers any money paid under a void contract within a prescribed timeframe.
- Allows consumers to take legal action to recover the amount paid under a void contract.
- Allows courts to order the recovery of double the amount paid by the consumer under a void contract, unless it would be inequitable.
- Allows courts to award exemplary or punitive damages or other relief to consumers in legal actions related to void contracts.
- Consumers of electricity who enter into or have fixed-rate electricity contracts with retailers.
- Retailers of electricity who offer or provide fixed-rate electricity contracts to consumers.
- The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario.
- Consumers have the right to a refund of money paid under a void fixed-rate electricity contract.
- Consumers are freed from liability for obligations under a void fixed-rate electricity contract.
- Consumers have the right to commence legal action to recover money paid under a void contract, potentially receiving double the amount paid.
- Retailers are obligated to refund consumers money paid under a void contract within a prescribed timeframe.
- The Act comes into force six months after the day it receives Royal Assent.
- Consumers may receive refunds for money paid under void fixed-rate electricity contracts.
- Consumers may recover twice the amount paid under a void contract through legal action.
- Retailers may be required to refund money paid by consumers under void contracts.
- Retailers may face legal action seeking double the amount paid by consumers under void contracts.
- Contracts for the provision of electricity at a fixed rate entered into on or after the day the bill comes into force are deemed void.
- Existing fixed-rate contracts renewed, extended, or amended on or after the day the bill comes into force are deemed void upon expiration, unless amended for penalty-free cancellation.
- Consumers are not liable for any obligations, charges, fees, or penalties under a void contract.
- Consumers may take legal action to recover money paid under a void contract, with the possibility of recovering double the amount paid and potentially other damages.
- The specific date on which new fixed-rate contracts will be deemed void is not explicitly stated in the provided text, only that it is 'on or after the day on which this subsection comes into force'.
- The 'prescribed time' for refunds and the 'prescribed amount' of electricity for consumer definition are not detailed in the provided text.
- The conditions under which a court might deem it inequitable to order the recovery of double the amount paid are not specified.
Amends the Act by adding Part II.1 to address fixed-rate electricity contracts and makes other consequential amendments.
Source: Section 3 and Section 9
Repeals and replaces the existing definition for 'energy consumer' within the context of specific subsections of the Act.
Source: Section 1
Amends Section 9 to add a subsection preventing retailers from charging consumers a fixed rate for electricity under contracts that are deemed void under the new provisions.
Source: Section 2
Generated using AI from official bill text. Not legal advice. It is written by PoliticalData.ca for civic education, automatically checked and spot-reviewed before publishing.
Official textProcess Snapshot
Vote Summary
This bill is still active. We only show vote counts after the legislature publishes a recorded division.
No published representative vote breakdown
This bill is still moving through the process. When a recorded division is published, representative positions can be listed here.
Official sources
Status, sponsor, votes, and timeline on this page are drawn from these official legislative sources and public records. Each summary above is attributed to its own source.
How this data is sourced