On May 28, 2015, the Ontario Energy Board released a report on the
effectiveness of Part II of Ontario's Energy Consumer
Protection Act, 2010 (ECPA). Before the ECPA came into force
in January 2011, the OEB was receiving 100 to 150 complaints a week
about energy retailers in the Province and many complaints were
being received elsewhere, such as at the Ontario Ministry of
Consumer Services. The ECPA was intended to protect low-volume
energy consumers from unfair practices by energy retailers and to
enhance the ability of these customers to make informed decisions
about electricity and natural gas contracts with energy
retailers.
The ECPA provided that the Minister of Energy could request the
OEB to review Part II of the ECPA after three years and the
Minister made this request in December of 2013. It is perhaps not
surprising that the Minister requested a review, because the
Auditor General of Ontario expressed concern in its 2011 Annual
Report about customers paying
