AUC Rules – Amendments
Following a rule review and rule development process on December 11, 2018, the AUC approved Rule 032: Specified Penalties for Contravention of AUC Rules (“Rule 032”) and amendments to Rule 021: Settlement System Code Rules (“Rule 021”), Rule 028: Natural Gas Settlement System Code Rules (“Rule 028”) and Rule 003: Service Standards for Energy Service Providers (“Rule 003”) (Formerly titled: Service Quality and Reliability Performance Monitoring and Reporting for Regulated Rate Providers, Default Supply Providers and Retailers), with an effective date of January 1, 2019.
Because the approved revisions of Rule 021 and Rule 028 involve system changes, the implementation timing for market participants’ system changes was set for June 22, 2019. Although the system implementation for the Rule 021 and Rule 028 was set for June 22, 2019, the AUC would continue to require that the most accurate and up-to-date information be provided, in accordance with Rule 021 and Rule 028 as of January 1, 2019.
On June 11, 2018, Bill 13: An Act to Secure Alberta’s Electricity Future came into force, which empowered the AUC to apply financial penalties to entities violating an AUC order, rule or decision. The AUC outlined a two-phase process for developing the specified penalties framework contemplated in Bill 13.
In Phase 1, the AUC held stakeholder consultations to review and revise Rule 021 and Rule 028 to implement specified penalties for better customer care and billing rules.
In Phase 2, the AUC consulted with stakeholders to further strengthen the AUC customer care and billing rules by proposing changes to Rule 003. Concurrent with the review of AUC Rule 003, the AUC also introduced and consulted stakeholders on, the new Rule 032. Rule 032 sets out the specific financial penalties for contraventions of the AUC rules listed in the penalty table of the rule.
