There is no requirement to post this notice on the Environmental Registry of Ontario, but we wanted to hear your thoughts. Thank you for your feedback.
This consultation was open from:
September 14, 2023
to October 14, 2023
Decision summary
To promote administrative efficiency, the Ministry amended O.Reg. 506/18 to streamline the exemption process for eligible building owners by removing the requirement to submit supporting documentation when requesting either an on-going or annual exemption from reporting.
Decision details
O.Reg. 506/18 under the Electricity Act, 1998 titled Reporting of Energy Consumption and Water Use has been amended to streamline the exemption process for eligible building owners by removing the requirement for building owners to submit supporting documentation when submitting a notice for either an ongoing exemption or an exemption from reporting in a calendar year.
Under this Regulation, exemptions to reporting are established for a single calendar year or are ongoing year-over-year. To submit an exemption from reporting, building owners were required to provide written notice as well as documents supporting their exemption submission, which was considered burdensome by stakeholders.
The regulatory amendments would relieve regulatory burden and eliminate unnecessary red tape by reducing interaction points with government.
The amendments do not result in changes to the requirement for reporters to submit an exemption notice using an online form, however, it would reduce the amount of time required to secure an exemption, as well as associated compliance costs.
It is anticipated that impacted reporters would be supportive of the changes as it would reduce the time and effort associated with EWRB annual submissions by eliminating the need to submit additional supporting documentation for each exemption criterion.
The amendments to O.Reg. 506/18 would positively impact both large and small business property owners, by making the exemption process simpler and faster. All property owners eligible for an exemption would benefit from the proposed changes as it would save them approximately three hours every year, as well as associated compliance costs. This will be especially helpful for small business property owners who may not have the staff capacity to complete the original regulatory requirements of providing supporting documentation with their exemption notice.
There would be no additional cost to businesses as a result of the proposed amendments. There would be an estimated savings of $82,500 annually of compliance costs for eligible building owners. No offsets would be required.
The proposed amendments have no cost impact on the government and require no development or procurement effort from the Ministry.
Effects of consultation
The Ministry’s proposal outlining the proposed amendments was posted on the Environment Registry of Ontario (ERO) and the Regulatory Registry (RR) for 30 days from September 14 to October 14, 2023.
The Ministry in total, received three comments on the posting (two through the registry posting and one letter submission).
- A letter was received from the Building Owners and Managers Association of the Greater Toronto Area (BOMA Toronto) expressing support of ENERGY’s measures to enhance administrative efficiency.
- One comment centered around the potential for falsified exemption notices from large developers that could enable excess use of energy and water.
- Other feedback highlighted the need to strengthen the efforts for energy conservation in Ontario and improve the use of collected data to communicate the importance of reporting and benchmarking in reaching GHG emissions reduction goals.
The information gathered from stakeholders was considered and will inform the updates of the exemption notice template and other program communications that is made available to reporters via the Ontario.ca website.
The Ministry is also considering this feedback when updating the EWRB website and supporting documentation to improve the messaging around the benefits of energy and water reporting and benchmarking,
Work is also underway to improve the use of collected EWRB data and develop tools and reports that can assist reporters in reaching their energy consumption and GHG emissions reduction goals.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
Connect with us
Contact
Tania Donovska, MEng, PMP
77 Grenville Street, 5th floor
Toronto,
ON
M7A 2C1
Canada
Original proposal
Why consultation isn't required
The regulatory amendment is primarily administrative in nature.
Proposal details
O. Reg. 506/18 sets out Ontario’s Energy and Water Reporting and Benchmarking (EWRB) program for prescribed buildings 50,000 square feet and larger. Building owners are required to report their energy and water consumption data to the Ministry of Energy (ENERGY) by July 1 every year via Energy Star Portfolio Manager.
To promote administrative efficiency, ENERGY is proposing to amend O. Reg. 506/18 to streamline the exemption process for eligible building owners by removing the requirement to submit supporting documentation when requesting either an on-going or annual exemption from reporting.
The process of a building owner providing ENERGY with a written notice, as well as documents supporting the exemption request may be considered burdensome by stakeholders. As such, removing the requirement to provide supporting documentation for each applicable exemption criterion could reduce the effort for building owners and contribute to red tape reduction.
Under this Regulation, eligible building owners can be exempt from reporting their energy consumption data for either a single calendar year, or ongoing. The current exemption process requires building owners to provide written notice as well as supplementary documents to ENERGY to support the exemption. These supplementary documents could include: a signed letter from the owner confirming that they meet the exemption requirements, square footage of the property that is occupied by the exempted building uses, copy of certificate for occupancy of the property, copy of the tax arrears certificate, notice of power of sale or foreclosure, writ of execution or proof of bankruptcy.
In order to enhance administrative efficiency and reduce red tape, ENERGY is proposing to amend O. Reg. 506/18, which, if approved, would remove the requirement for stakeholders to provide supporting documents when applying for an exemption.
As the ministry seeks additional opportunities to improve the efficiency, relevance and impact of the EWRB program, we invite stakeholder feedback regarding additional considerations related to the exemption criteria such as eligibility.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from September 14, 2023
to October 14, 2023
Connect with us
Contact
Tania Donovska, MEng, PMP
77 Grenville Street, 5th floor
Toronto,
ON
M7A 2C1
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
2By email
1By mail
0