Part IIOrderPublished: April 14, 2021

Vector Pipeline Remission Order

Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership Remission Order: SI/2021-13

The government approved a remission order returning $1,241,925 to Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership because the energy regulator collected more in 2019 cost-recovery charges than the company ultimately owed. The payment, made under the Financial Administration Act, is issued as a lump sum because Vector’s reclassification to an intermediate pipeline company would have spread the credit across small levies for about 122 years.

Published
April 14, 2021
Department
Unavailable
Section
Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership Remission Order
Comment deadline
Unavailable
Effective date
March 26, 2021
Publication part
Part II

Summary

Summary#

The federal government approved the Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership Remission Order: SI/2021-13 on March 26, 2021 (published April 14, 2021). It returns $1,241,925 to Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership because the energy regulator collected more in 2019 cost-recovery charges than the company ultimately owed.

What it does#

  • Remits $1,241,925 to Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership as a lump-sum payment.
  • Uses authority under the Financial Administration Act to provide the payment instead of leaving the amount as a future credit.
  • Explains this is needed because the National Energy Board Cost Recovery Regulations normally convert such adjustments into credits applied against future bills under subsection 17(3.1).
  • Notes that after Vector was reclassified from a large to an intermediate pipeline company, the remaining credit would have been spread out against small annual levies of $10,222, taking about 122 years to use up — so a lump sum was considered reasonable.

Who's affected#

  • Vector Pipeline Limited Partnership — the direct recipient of the remission and the company that overpaid in 2019.
  • Canadian Energy Regulator (CER) (formerly the National Energy Board (NEB)) — the regulator that collected the fees and handled the crediting process.
  • Other regulated pipeline companies in the same commodity group — they were involved in the earlier decision-making and could be indirectly affected by how cost-recovery adjustments are allocated, but the order itself returns money only to Vector.

Why it matters#

  • Vector gets immediate access to $1,241,925 instead of very small annual reductions that would have taken about 122 years to use. That is a practical, near-term benefit for the company.
  • The order corrects a surplus collection and returns public funds that the regulator had held as a credit. This is a limited, technical fix rather than a broad policy change.
  • For the general public, the direct impact is small — the item mainly affects how a specific regulator account is settled and how one company is paid back.

Key topics

Financial Administration ActNational Energy Board Cost Recovery RegulationsNational Energy BoardNEBCanadian Energy RegulatorCERVector Pipeline Limited Partnershipcost recovery chargescost of service relieflarge pipeline companyintermediate pipeline companygas pipelinepipeline levies

Source: Canada Gazette

Official source