Bill 13 explained in plain English
Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016
Ontario legislature bill summary, status, timeline, sponsor, votes, and official sources.
At a glance
Official Legislative Assembly of Ontario snapshot for 41st 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
The Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016, provides eligible consumers with an 8% rebate on their electricity costs.
This Act, now known as the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016, provides financial assistance to eligible electricity consumers in Ontario. This assistance is given as an 8% reduction on the electricity bill before taxes, for each billing period. The Act also outlines how electricity vendors will be reimbursed and includes administrative and enforcement measures.
- Authorizes financial assistance for certain Ontario electricity consumers.
- Provides this assistance as an 8% reduction on the amount payable before tax on electricity accounts for each billing period.
- Requires the amount of financial assistance to be shown on consumer invoices.
- Authorizes regulations to reimburse electricity vendors for amounts credited to consumers.
- Allows for regulations to establish other methods for consumers to receive financial assistance.
- Permits regulations to modify the rules for calculating financial assistance and to limit or alter eligibility.
- Includes administrative and enforcement provisions, such as requirements for record-keeping and authorization for inspections and inquiries.
- Amends the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, to make provisions of this Act and its regulations enforceable by the Ontario Energy Board.
- Amends the Ontario Clean Energy Benefit Act, 2010, to allow for regulations regarding cut-off dates for financial assistance under that Act.
- Electricity consumers in Ontario who meet eligibility criteria
- Electricity vendors (e.g., IESO, licensed distributors, licensed retailers)
- Unit sub-meter providers
- The Minister of Finance
- The Minister of Energy
- The Ontario Energy Board
- Consumers are entitled to an 8% financial assistance (rebate) on their electricity bill, calculated on the base invoice amount.
- Electricity vendors must show the credit amount and the net amount on invoices.
- Electricity vendors and certain other persons must keep records necessary for compliance.
- Inspectors appointed by the Minister of Finance have powers related to the administration and enforcement of the Act.
- Persons are prohibited from hindering inspectors.
- Confidentiality obligations are placed on government employees regarding information obtained for the Act's purposes, with specific exceptions for legal proceedings and administration/enforcement of certain laws.
- The Act comes into force on the later of January 1, 2017, and the day it receives Royal Assent (November 2, 2016).
- Consumers receive an 8% reduction on their electricity bill before tax.
- Money required for the Act's purposes is paid out of funds appropriated by the Legislature.
- The Act allows for regulations to reimburse electricity vendors.
- There are provisions for the recovery of overpayments, which may include penalties and interest.
- Fines imposed for offences are payable to the Minister of Finance on behalf of the Crown in right of Ontario.
- Failure to keep records can result in a fine of $50 to $5,000.
- Penalties for specific offences related to false statements, fraud, or evading compliance can include fines from $1,000 to $10,000 and/or imprisonment for up to two years.
- General contraventions of the Act not covered by other penalties can result in fines of $50 to $5,000.
- The Minister can assess overpayments, plus interest, and potentially a penalty for non-compliance, with specific time limits.
- Fines are payable to the Minister of Finance.
- The exact definition of an 'eligible account' and 'base invoice amount' is subject to regulations.
- Circumstances under which a consumer might not be entitled to financial assistance, or for which limitations periods may not apply, are to be prescribed by regulations.
- The specific amounts for reimbursement, payment methods, and information reporting requirements are to be detailed in regulations.
- The Act allows for regulations to alter eligibility for financial assistance.
- The Act specifies that the 'eligible period' commences on January 1, 2017, but the full scope of its application and specific rebate details will be further defined by regulations.
Makes provisions of the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016, and its regulations enforceable by the Ontario Energy Board. Also, a licence issued to a unit sub-meter provider is deemed to include a condition that the provider must comply with this Act and its regulations.
Source: Section 17
Defines terms, establishes the base invoice amount for calculating rebates, outlines eligibility for financial assistance, specifies how financial assistance is paid, and details invoice requirements. It also covers financial arrangements for reimbursements, limitation periods, record-keeping, inspections, inquiries, recovery of overpayments, confidentiality, offences, fines, and regulations.
Source: Sections 1-19
Allows for regulations to be made concerning cut-off dates for financial assistance and reimbursement under that Act.
Source: Section 16
Certain sections of this Act apply with necessary modifications to the administration and enforcement of the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016.
Source: Section 9 (2)
Certain sections of this Act apply with necessary modifications in relation to the recovery of overpayments under the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016. Also, the Ontario Energy Board Act, 1998, is amended to make provisions of the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016, enforceable by the Ontario Energy Board.
Source: Sections 2, 9(9), 10(8), 17
Section 33 of this Act applies to inquiries conducted under the Ontario Rebate for Electricity Consumers Act, 2016.
Source: Section 9 (9)
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 does not have a published recorded division in the current official sources, so representative-by-representative vote counts are not shown.
No published representative vote breakdown
The current official sources do not publish a recorded division breakdown for this bill, so there is no representative-by-representative table to show.
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