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Bulletin 2007-43

December 6, 2007

Transition of the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board into the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Energy Resources Conservation Board

1 Introduction

During the fall session of the Legislative Assembly, Bill 46, Alberta Utilities Commission Act, was enacted. The purpose of the Act is to separate the Alberta Energy and Utilities Board (EUB) into two regulatory bodies, the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) and the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB), effective January 1, 2008. Therefore, a number of steps are being taken to plan for this transition.

2 Alberta Utilities Commission

The AUC will be responsible for the approval and ongoing supervision of power plants, transmission lines, and gas utility pipelines, as well as the economic regulation and the establishment of rates for electricity, gas, and water. In addition, the AUC will have rule-making authority and provide an adjudicative function for the Market Surveillance Administrator and ISO rulemaking.

On January 2, 2008, the AUC will be commencing business and can be contacted Monday to Friday during the business hours of 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at

400, 425 – 1 Street S.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3L8
Phone: (403) 592-UTIL (8845)
Fax: (403) 592-4406
E-mail: info@auc.ab.ca
Web site: www.auc.ab.ca

3 Energy Resources Conservation Board

The new ERCB will focus on Alberta’s regulatory framework for energy resources. The ERCB will strengthen and enhance its regulatory capacity to address continually evolving energy resource development within Alberta, including the expanding oil sands sector. Alberta has a proud energy heritage; the new ERCB builds upon that tradition developed by its predecessor boards. The ERCB will act in the best interests of all Albertans in overseeing the efficient and effective development of our energy resources, while balancing the need for resource conservation, public safety, environmental protection, customer service, and technical innovation.

The ERCB head office will continue to be located at

640 – 5 Avenue S.W.
Calgary, Alberta T2P 3G4
Phone: (403) 297-8311
Web site: www.ercb.ca

4 Business Processes

Significant changes will need to be made to current EUB systems to support the split into two organizations. A shared services model for the Digital Data Submission (DDS) gateway and the electronic applications systems will be adopted until the scope of the system changes can be determined and the eventual division takes place. During this transition phase, our customers may notice both organizations’ logos on system screens and some application disposition documents.

Access to information and systems will be accommodated through the activation of two new Web sites for the separate organizations (www.auc.ab.ca and www.ercb.ca). The Web sites will be in place on January 2, 2008. Modifications to various DDS services such as, but not limited to, the Electronic Application Submission (EAS), IAR Query, Proceeding Submission, Proceeding Search, and Licence Transfer systems will take place during the January to March 2008 timeframe. Until all services have been converted, the EUB name and logo will continue to appear in some systems and documents.

4.1 Utilities Branch

The Utilities Branch will strive to complete EUB applications filed in the current calendar year before December 31, 2007. Utility applications can continue to be filed electronically up until December 7, 2007, for routine matters. Filings for acknowledgement will be accepted throughout the month of December. Applicants are encouraged to wait to file nonroutine applications until after January 1, 2008.

In certain circumstances, applications completed after January 1, 2008, will be dispositioned by the EUB as required by Bill 46, Section 80. If the Utilities Branch has issued a public Notice of Hearing prior to December 31, 2007, the application will be dispositioned by the EUB. The EUB decisions will be available on the AUC Web site.
Reissuance of current EUB directives relating to utility matters will be reissued as AUC rules and will be available on the AUC Web site after January 2, 2008.

4.2 Applications Branch

As the transition progresses for the EUB, the Applications Branch is taking the approach of “business as usual.” The Applications Branch will continue to receive, process, and disposition facility and resource applications that have been filed in the most efficient manner possible. Applicants are reminded that the month of December is traditionally a high-activity month. Filing of applications as early in the month as possible, before the holiday season is upon us, is strongly recommended. Energy applications not dispositioned by the EUB before the calendar year-end will be dealt with by the new ERCB. Any system-generated approvals may continue to display the EUB banner until the system changes are implemented as scheduled during January to March 2008, as discussed above.
With respect to public hearing matters, the following approach has been adopted:

• If the EUB has issued a public Notice of Hearing prior to December 31, 2007, the files will continue to be processed and dispositioned under EUB jurisdiction, as required by Bill 46, Section 80, even when such disposition occurs after January 1, 2008.
• If a notice of public hearing has not yet been issued for an application as of December 31, 2007, the application will be processed and dispositioned under ERCB jurisdiction.
• Energy decisions arising from hearings where the proceeding has concluded but the report is pending at December 31, 2007, will continue to be issued under EUB jurisdiction, pursuant to Bill 46.

5 Administrative Matters

The EUB is striving to minimize any disruption to our external stakeholders during this time of organizational change. Appropriate steps are being put in place to ensure that e-mail addresses and telephone numbers of staff are properly forwarded or redirected.

Your patience during this transition phase is greatly appreciated.

<original signed by>

William A. Tilleman, Q.C., J.S.D.
Chairman