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Bulletin 2009-34

October 8, 2009

Noncompliance Fees for Water Metering Difference Errors

To improve the accuracy of water use reporting, the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) is implementing three new water metering difference error messages in the Petroleum Registry of Alberta (PRA) effective as of the October 2009 production month. The new error messages and related shadow billing and payable invoice implementation timelines are detailed below.

New Error Messages

1) VME0023—Water metering difference is 20% or greater

Description: The PRA has calculated a water metering difference of 20% or more, and the volume is 200 cubic metres (m3) or greater.

• Shadow billing for six consecutive months commencing with the October 2009 production month and ending on the March 2010 production month.
• Payable noncompliance invoices will commence with the April 2010 production month.
• April 2010 invoices will include errors not corrected during the shadow billing period.
• Metering difference errors greater than 20% detected before the October 2009 production month will continue to receive the non-chargeable error message VME0020.

2) VME0025—Water metering difference is 100% or greater

Description: The PRA has calculated a water metering difference that is 100% or greater, indicating a missing volume.

• Shadow billing for six consecutive months commencing with the October 2009 production month and ending on the March 2010 production month.
• Payable noncompliance invoices will commence with the April 2010 production month.
• April 2010 invoices will include errors not corrected during the shadow billing period.

3) VME0024—Water metering difference is 20% or greater

Description: The PRA has calculated a water metering difference of 20% or more, and the volume is >50 m3 and <200 m3.

• Implemented as a warning message commencing with the October 2009 production month, then changed to a chargeable error commencing with the April 2010 production month.
• Shadow billing for six consecutive months commencing with the April 2010 production month and ending on the September 2010 production month.
• Payable noncompliance invoices will commence with the October 2010 production month.
• October 2010 invoices will include errors not corrected during the shadow billing period.

These three new noncompliances have been assessed as Low Risk using the ERCB Risk Assessment Matrix, in accordance with Directive 019: Compliance Assurance—Enforcement.

Related Business Rules

• If any volumes are missing (REC, DISP, PROD, etc.), error message VME0025 will always be issued, regardless of the volume.
• If all volumes have been reported and the metering difference is 20% or greater, either error message VME0023 or warning message VME0024 will be issued depending on the volume.
• Only one of the three error messages will be issued at any one time.

Noncompliance Fees

Invoicing details are as follows:

• Shadow billing and payable invoices will be loaded into the Ministry Invoices and Statements area of the PRA.
• If an error is not cleared by the ERCB volumetric deadline, it will continue to appear on the shadow billing invoice each month until it has been corrected.
• Errors incurred and not corrected during the shadow billing period will be invoiced $100.00 at the time that payable invoices are implemented.

Any questions regarding these changes may be directed to the Production Accounting Help Line at 403-297-8952, extension 3, or by e-mail at pa.help@ercb.ca.

<original signed by>

Forrest Kvemshagen
Executive Manager and CIO
Information and Systems Services Branch