Ontario Energy Board Amends Licence For New Transmitter

The Ontario Energy Board has ordered that the transmitter licence for TransCanada Transmission (TCT) be amended to change the effective date to the earlier of: (i) the date on which TCT is designated as a developer of transmission assets in Ontario pursuant to a Board designation process: or (ii) the date on which TCT applies for approval to own and/or operate specific transmission facilities in Ontario.

The order is effectively a reversal of the Board's earlier decisiondenying TCT an exemption to certain obligations under the Board's Affiliate Relationships Code for Electricity Distributors and Transmitters (ARC). TCT was particularly concerned with a requirement in the ARC that prohibited it from sharing employees that have access to confidential customer information with other TransCanada affiliates. TCT argued that this requirement drove-up costs and was unnecessary as newly licenced transmitters do not yet have any customers in Ontario.