National Energy Board Cost Recovery Regulations (SOR/91-7)

Short Title

1 These Regulations may be cited as the National Energy Board Cost Recovery Regulations.

Interpretation

2 In these Regulations,

Act

Act means the National Energy Board Act; (Loi)

border accommodation commodity pipeline

border accommodation commodity pipeline means a commodity pipeline, constructed primarily for the transportation of a commodity other than oil or natural gas across the border between Canada and the United States, that

• (a) has an outside diameter of less than 100 mm,

• (b) carries the commodity at pressures of 700 kPa or less, and

• (c) has a capacity of less than 500 m³ per day; (productoduc destiné à un service frontalier)

border accommodation electricity exporter

border accommodation electricity exporter[Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 1]

border accommodation pipeline

border accommodation pipeline means a pipeline, constructed for the transportation of natural gas across a border, that

• (a) has an outside diameter of less than 100 mm,

• (b) carries gas at pressures of not more than 700 kPa, and

• (c) has a capacity of less than 500 m³ per day; (pipeline destiné à un service frontalier)

commodity pipeline

commodity pipeline means a pipeline used primarily for the transportation of a commodity other than oil or natural gas; (productoduc)

cost of service

cost of service means the total cost of providing service, including operating and maintenance expenses, depreciation, amortization, taxes and return on rate base; (coût de service)

delivery

delivery means a delivery of natural gas, oil, oil products, natural gas liquids or liquefied petroleum gas; (livraison)

equichange transfer

equichange transfer[Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 1]

fiscal year

fiscal year, in respect of a company regulated by the Board, means the regular fiscal year of the company; (exercice)

gas pipeline

gas pipeline means a pipeline used for the transmission of natural gas; (gazoduc)

inadvertent flow

inadvertent flow means the difference between the actual power flow and the scheduled power flow between two control areas that is caused by imperfect generation control or by an error in frequency bias; (flux involontaire)

intermediate commodity pipeline company

intermediate commodity pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more commodity pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is $1,000,000 or more but less than $10,000,000; (compagnie de productoduc de moyenne importance)

intermediate electricity exporter

intermediate electricity exporter[Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 1]

intermediate gas pipeline company

intermediate gas pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more gas pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is $1,000,000 or more but less than $10,000,000; (compagnie de gazoduc de moyenne importance)

intermediate oil pipeline company

intermediate oil pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more oil pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is $1,000,000 or more but less than $10,000,000; (compagnie d’oléoduc de moyenne importance)

large commodity pipeline company

large commodity pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more commodity pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is $10,000,000 or more; (compagnie de productoduc de grande importance)

large electricity exporter

large electricity exporter[Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 1]

large gas pipeline company

large gas pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more gas pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is $10,000,000 or more; (compagnie de gazoduc de grande importance)

large oil pipeline company

large oil pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more oil pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is $10,000,000 or more; (compagnie d’oléoduc de grande importance)

large power line company

large power line company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate an international or interprovincial power line and that annually transmits 50,000 megawatt hours or more of electricity, excluding any transmissions that are inadvertent flow or loop flow; (compagnie de transport d’électricité de grande importance)

loop flow

loop flow means an unscheduled power flow on an electric system’s transmission facilities that is caused by parallel flows that result from scheduled electric power transfers between two other electric systems; (flux de bouclage)

oil pipeline

oil pipeline means a pipeline used for the transmission of oil, oil products, natural gas liquids and liquefied petroleum gas; (oléoduc)

program costs

program costs means the costs that are attributable to an activity for the achievement of an objective of the Board in relation to its responsibilities under the Act or any other Act of Parliament; (coût du programme)

sale transfer

sale transfer[Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 1]

small commodity pipeline company

small commodity pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more commodity pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is less than $1,000,000, and excludes a person or company that is only authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more border accommodation commodity pipelines; (compagnie de productoduc de faible importance)

small electricity exporter

small electricity exporter[Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 1]

small gas pipeline company

small gas pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more gas pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is less than $1,000,000, and excludes a person or company that is only authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more border accommodation pipelines; (compagnie de gazoduc de faible importance)

small oil pipeline company

small oil pipeline company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate one or more oil pipelines, the combined annual cost of service of which is less than $1,000,000; (compagnie d’oléoduc de faible importance)

small power line company

small power line company means a person or company that is authorized under the Act to construct or operate an international or interprovincial power line and that annually transmits less than 50,000 megawatt hours of electricity, excluding any transmissions that are inadvertent flow or loop flow; (compagnie de transport d’électricité de faible importance)

year

year means a calendar year. (année)

3 [Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 2]

Payment of Charges and Levies

• 4 (1) Each large oil pipeline company shall, every year, pay to the Board a cost recovery charge calculated in the manner set out in subsection 14(1).

• (2) Each large gas pipeline company shall, every year, pay to the Board a cost recovery charge calculated in the manner set out in subsection 14(2).

• (3) Each large power line company shall, every year, pay to the Board a cost recovery charge calculated in the manner set out in subsection 14(3).

• (4) Each large commodity pipeline company shall, every year, pay to the Board an administration levy of $50,000.

• (5) However, a company is not required to pay, for a year or any portion of a year, a cost recovery charge or administration levy payable under this section if the company pays a levy under section 5.2 or 5.3 in that year.

• 4.1 (1) A large oil pipeline company, large gas pipeline company or large commodity pipeline company is not required to pay the portion of a cost recovery charge or administration levy payable under section 4 that exceeds 2% of the estimate of the cost of service in respect of the company for the year in question if

  • (a) in the case of a large oil pipeline company or a large gas pipeline company, the company files a request for relief with the Board within 30 days after the day on which the Board notifies the company of the cost recovery charge payable by the company in that year;

  • (b) in the case of a large commodity pipeline company, the company files a request for relief with the Board within 30 days after the date of the Board’s invoice to the company for the administration levy payable in that year; and

  • (c) the request for relief includes the company’s estimated cost of service for that year.

• (2) After consultation with the company that filed the request, the Board may, by December 15 in the year in which the request is filed, adjust the company’s estimated cost of service if

  • (a) the actual circumstances of the company are different in a material respect from the circumstances reported by the company in its request; or

  • (b) there is an error or omission in the calculation of the estimate.

• (3) to (5) [Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 5]

• (6) Any company that obtains relief under this section shall provide to the Board, on or before August 31 of the following year, its actual cost of service for the year in respect of which the relief is obtained.

• (7) If, in respect of any year, relief is obtained under this section by one or more large oil pipeline companies, the Board shall, on or before September 30 of the following year, determine the revised amount of relief for each of those companies, which amount shall be the portion of the revised and adjusted cost recovery charge calculated in accordance with section 17 that exceeds 2% of the actual cost of service for the company for the year in respect of which the relief is obtained.

• (8) If, in respect of any year, relief is obtained under this section by one or more large gas pipeline companies, the Board shall, on or before September 30 of the following year, determine the revised amount of relief for each of those companies, which amount shall be the portion of the revised and adjusted cost recovery charge calculated in accordance with section 17 that exceeds 2% of the actual cost of service for the company for the year in respect of which the relief is obtained.

5 [Repealed, SOR/2009-307, s. 6]

• 5.1 (1) Each intermediate oil pipeline company, intermediate gas pipeline company and intermediate commodity pipeline company shall, every year, pay to the Board an administration levy of $10,000.

• (2) Each small oil pipeline company, small gas pipeline company and small commodity pipeline company and each small power line company that transmits 0.5 megawatt hours or more of electricity per year shall, every year, pay to the Board an administration levy of $500.

• (3) However, a company is not required to pay, for a year or any portion of a year, a levy payable under subsection (1) or (2) if

  • (a) after June 30 in that year, the company obtains an exemption order under section 58 of the Act or a certificate; or

  • (b) in that year, the company pays a levy under section 5.2 or 5.3.

• (4) An administration levy of $500 for the issuance of a certificate or the making of an exemption order authorizing the construction or operation of a border accommodation pipeline or a border accommodation commodity pipeline is payable to the Board by the authorized company.

• 5.2 (1) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), any company that obtains an exemption order under section 58 of the Act in respect of, or a certificate authorizing, the construction of a pipeline shall pay to the Board a levy equal to 0.2% of the estimated cost of construction of the pipeline, as estimated by the Board in its decision issuing the certificate or making the order.

• (2) The levy shall be paid to the Board within 90 days after the date of the Board’s invoice to the company for the levy.

• (3) No levy is payable by a company in respect of the obtaining of the certificate or the exemption order if the company previously obtained a certificate that continues to be in force or an exemption order that continues to apply.

• (4) This section applies to companies that file an application for a certificate or an exemption order after the coming into force of this section.

• 5.3 (1) A company that obtains a permit or certificate under Part III.1 of the Act that authorizes the construction of an international or interprovincial power line shall pay to the Board a levy equal to 0.2% of the estimated cost of construction of the power line, as estimated by the Board in its decision to issue the permit or certificate.

• (2) However, the levy is not payable if

  • (a) the company has previously obtained a permit or certificate that continues to be in force; or

  • (b) the company filed an application for the permit or certificate before the coming into force of this section.

• (3) The levy shall be paid to the Board within 90 days after the date of the Board’s invoice to the company for the levy.

Determination of Board Costs

6 For the purposes of calculating cost recovery charges in accordance with these Regulations, the total costs attributable for a year to the responsibilities of the Board under the Act or any other Act of Parliament are 95 per cent of the aggregate of

• (a) one fourth of the estimated program costs of the Board including the costs of goods and services provided to the Board by other federal departments or agencies, as set out in the Expenditure Plan published in the Estimates of the Government of Canada for the Board’s fiscal year ending in that year, and

• (b) three fourths of the forecasted program costs of the Board including the costs of goods and services provided to the Board by other federal departments or agencies, as prepared for the Expenditure Plan to be published in the Estimates of the Government of Canada for the Board’s fiscal year beginning during that year.