The Ontario Energy Board (the "OEB")
announced yesterday that it has opened its
Innovation Sandbox (the "Sandbox").
The Sandbox is where energy service providers (utilities and
others) can approach the OEB in an informal way to get relief from
regulatory restrictions on their ability to provide innovative
products, services and business models that can benefit customers.
Similar types of initiatives have been used by Canadian and
international regulators in financial services and securities to
facilitate fintech.
The OEB's Sandbox is its first initiative resulting from the
report of the Advisory Committee on Innovation (the
"ACI") (the "ACI
Report") which recommended approaches to regulatory
changes that will facilitate innovative technologies and business
models to serve customers. The OEB also announced its road map for consulting on other
initiatives proposed in the ACI Report.
