Summary#
The Energy Sector Consumer Advocate Act would create a new law and repeal the 2013 An Act Respecting a Public Intervener for the Energy Sector. Its stated goal is to represent consumers in energy-related Board proceedings, assist some consumers, and promote energy literacy; those aims are not guaranteed results. The material supplied is the bill as introduced at first reading, not a consolidated version with amendments.
- It would establish an Office of the Energy Sector Consumer Advocate and require the Consumer Advocate to take part in certain proceedings before the New Brunswick Energy and Utilities Board.
- The Advocate could receive and review eligible consumer questions and complaints, try to resolve them, and may refer an unresolved matter to the Board if the consumer has made a good-faith effort to resolve it.
- In specified proceedings, the Advocate must represent residential consumers, small-business consumers, or both—not individual consumers or other groups. The Advocate may take part in some other Board proceedings.
- The Board would collect the Office’s operating and proceeding-related expenses through assessment mechanisms under the Energy and Utilities Board Act or, for certain petroleum-product review expenses, from a levy under the Petroleum Products Pricing Act.
- The Act would set rules for appointing the Advocate, hiring Office staff, budgeting, auditing, and public reporting. The new Office is not described as an independent corporation.
What it means for you#
- Residential consumers and small businesses: The bill defines consumers as people or businesses in those categories, with the details of eligibility left to regulations. The Office would assist consumers of electricity, gas, or petroleum products.
- Consumers with complaints: The Advocate may decline to examine a complaint for listed reasons, including that it is outside the Advocate’s authority or that a remedy already exists. A decision not to examine or refer a complaint would be final and could not be challenged in court. The Board may also refuse to consider a referred complaint.
- Consumers in Board proceedings: The Advocate must take part in proceedings under the listed energy laws and make representations for residential consumers, small businesses, or both. The bill does not require the Advocate to represent every consumer individually.
- Regulated businesses and utilities: The bill names petroleum-product retailers and wholesalers, gas distributors, and NB Power as regulated entities. Their potential assessments depend on the Board’s assessment rules; the parent Act was not supplied, so the exact current assessment process and who ultimately bears each cost could not be verified.
- Taxpayers and government: The Minister would administer the Act and approve or change the Advocate’s budget. The bill does not create a direct consumer rebate, change energy prices, or set a tax or fee for consumers.
Money#
No publicly available information on the total expected cost or the amount of any assessment.
- The Office may hire staff and contract for professional services. The Advocate’s pay and benefits would be set by the Lieutenant-Governor in Council; the bill gives no staffing or salary estimate.
- The Board would collect and remit the budgeted expenses. Operating expenses would be treated as common expenses for assessment; attributable proceeding expenses would be assessed as direct expenses. Certain expenses from a Board review under the Petroleum Products Pricing Act would be paid from that Act’s levy.
- Surpluses would reduce the next year’s budget; if collections are short, the Advocate may seek an additional budget. The bill does not say whether or how assessed costs may affect consumer bills.
What is unclear#
- The regulations would define “residential consumer” and “small business consumer”; those definitions are not in the bill.
- The bill does not set detailed complaint-handling steps, timelines, or a process for consumers to challenge a refusal.
- The parent Energy and Utilities Board Act and other relevant Acts were not supplied. The bill’s assessment provisions and its changes to the existing Public Intervener’s role therefore could not be checked against current law.
- The bill says the 2013 Public Intervener Act would be repealed, with the former Public Intervener finishing proceedings already begun. How the new Office would handle other existing work is not clear from the text.
- Most provisions would start on dates set by proclamation; only the initial-budget and expense-assessment sections would start on Royal Assent. No start date is provided.
Case for#
- The bill appears intended to give residential consumers and small businesses a dedicated representative in energy-related Board proceedings.
- A single office that can assist consumers and try to resolve complaints may offer a route to address some problems before they reach the Board.
- Requiring the Advocate to represent consumer groups in specified proceedings could give those groups a voice even when no individual consumer brings a case.
- Budget, audit, and annual-report requirements would create financial and activity reporting duties for the Office.
Case against#
- The bill does not give consumers a right to have the Advocate take up a complaint: the Advocate may refuse to examine one, and that decision cannot be challenged in court.
- The Lieutenant-Governor in Council appoints the Advocate, while the Minister may change the Office’s budget. The bill does not explain how these powers would be kept separate from the Advocate’s representation of consumers.
- The bill creates assessments to fund the Office but gives no cost estimate; the ultimate effect on regulated parties or consumer bills is unclear.
- Eligibility, complaint procedures, and some appointment details depend on regulations that are not included in the supplied material.