Industry Levy – Responsible Energy Development Act General Regulation
Since the AER’s announcement regarding changes to the calculation of fees in Bulletin 2021-37 in September of 2021, the Government of Alberta has announced changes to the Responsible Energy Development Act General Regulation. As part of the changes, the definition of “facility” was changed to include pipelines and some other larger facilities.
As a result of these changes, the AER will make the following changes to industry levies, in the spring of 2022:
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A new levy on pipelines based on pipeline classes determined by pipe diameter will be introduced. The levy will be phased in for spring 2022 and reflect the full amount of staff effort by 2024 as each year of effort is determined.
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A new levy on certain larger facilities will be introduced. The levy would apply to 26 gas plants with approved inlet rates greater than 10 million m3/day and four standalone oil sands facilities. The larger facility sector allocation will be prorated based on the inlet rate for gas plants and by production capacity for standalone facilities. The levy will be phased in for spring 2022 and reflect the full amount of staff effort by 2024 as each year of effort is determined.
In addition, with effect from 1 April 2022, the AER will stop mailing paper copies of levy invoices to licensees and will send invoices by email only. Electronic invoice delivery will ensure secure delivery and create efficiencies in approval and payment processing.