Energy Sector Advocate would aid consumers

Summary#

The first-reading Energy Sector Consumer Advocate Act would create a new Act and repeal New Brunswick’s An Act Respecting a Public Intervener for the Energy Sector. It would set up an Office of the Energy Sector Consumer Advocate, with the stated goal of helping energy consumers and representing them in proceedings before the Energy and Utilities Board. This is the first-reading text; it is not law, and the available material does not show whether amendments were later proposed or adopted.

  • The office would assist residential and small-business consumers of electricity, gas and petroleum products, and promote energy literacy.
  • The Lieutenant-Governor in Council would appoint a New Brunswick lawyer as Advocate, following a merit-based nomination process for a new appointment. The Advocate could hire staff and contract for professional services.
  • The Advocate must intervene in Board proceedings under specified energy laws, including the Pipeline Act, 2005, and in any proceeding the Lieutenant-Governor in Council requires. In those proceedings, the Advocate represents residential consumers, small-business consumers or both—not other parties.
  • For an individual consumer’s question or complaint, the Advocate may try to resolve it and may refer it to the Board if it remains unresolved and the Advocate is satisfied the consumer did their best to resolve it.
  • The Board could refuse to hear a referred complaint and could order payment or award costs. The Advocate could refuse to examine a complaint in certain circumstances; that decision, or a decision not to refer it, could not be questioned or reviewed in court.
  • The bill sets out budgets, audits and public reports for the office. It also keeps the former Public Intervener handling proceedings begun before the new Act starts, with the old Act continuing to apply to related expenses.

What it means for you#

  • Residential and small-business energy consumers: You could seek the Advocate’s help with matters within the Board’s authority. The bill does not guarantee that the Advocate will examine or refer a complaint. The terms “residential consumer” and “small business consumer” depend on regulations that are not included.
  • Consumers in Board proceedings: In proceedings under the listed laws, the Advocate must represent the interests of residential consumers, small-business consumers or both. In a complaint-specific proceeding, the Advocate may represent only the consumer who raised that complaint.
  • Businesses and energy providers: The bill names petroleum retailers and wholesalers, gas distributors and NB Power as regulated entities. Their expenses may be affected by the cost-recovery arrangements, but the bill does not state each entity’s final share.
  • The public: The Advocate must publish audited accounts and an annual report. The office’s head office would be in Saint John.

Money#

The bill requires budgets and cost-recovery arrangements, but the available material gives no dollar estimate.

  • The Advocate would set out expected operating expenses, such as salaries and benefits, and direct expenses, such as costs for consultants and witnesses in Board proceedings.
  • The Board would collect and remit the budgeted amounts. Operating expenses and some direct expenses would be included in the Board’s expenses for assessment; costs from certain Petroleum Products Pricing Act reviews would be paid from that Act’s levy.
  • The Advocate could hire staff, subject to any maximum set by regulation, and contract for professional services. The bill gives no staffing or cost estimate.
  • The Minister could change a proposed budget before approving it. The bill does not state the final amount any assessed party would pay.

What is unclear#

  • The regulations that would define eligible residential and small-business consumers, and possibly set a staff limit, are not provided.
  • The bill does not set detailed complaint procedures, response timelines or an appeal process for the Advocate’s decision not to examine or refer a complaint.
  • It does not explain how the new office’s work would overlap with other consumer services or how consumers would find and use it.
  • The former Public Intervener Act is not supplied, so the available material does not show which powers, duties or funding arrangements are new compared with current law.
  • Most of the Act would start on a date set by proclamation. Only the initial-budget and assessment provisions would start on Royal Assent; no start date is given for the rest.

Case for#

  • A dedicated office could give residential and small-business consumers a named source of help with energy questions and complaints.
  • Required representation in specified Board proceedings could ensure consumer interests are presented even when no individual complaint drives the case.
  • The bill provides for audits, public annual reports and a defined budget process, which could make the office’s activity and costs visible.

Case against#

  • The Advocate could decline to examine or refer a complaint, and those decisions could not be reviewed in court. The bill does not set a detailed process for making them.
  • The Board could also refuse to hear a referred complaint, so referral would not guarantee a Board decision.
  • The office’s costs would be recovered through assessments and a levy, but the bill does not provide estimates or show each payer’s share.
  • The Minister could change the Advocate’s budget, while the Lieutenant-Governor in Council appoints the Advocate and may require the Advocate to intervene in proceedings. The bill does not explain how these powers would work alongside the Advocate’s role representing consumer interests.