OEB proposes cost revisions to renewable grid connections

The Ontario Energy Board (the Board) issued a Notice of Proposal to Amend the Distribution System Code (DSC) to ensure costs are allocated in a manner that protects ratepayers, promotes the connection of renewable resources and encourages generators to select sites that are economically efficient.

The proposed amendments would, if enacted, reduce the costs renewable generators would have to pay to connect their generation to a distribution system by:

- Making distributors responsible for the costs of "renewable enabling improvements" - investments made by a distributor to enhance the technical ability of a distribution system to accommodate increased levels of renewable generation.

- Sharing the cost of any expansions of the distribution system between the distributor and generator, so that only those generators requiring expansions which are costly relative to their size bear some of the costs.

The amendments also clarify that generators would continue to be responsible for the cost of dedicated connection facilities to the distributor's main distribution system.

This project is part of a series of initiatives the Board is undertaking to facilitate the timely connection of renewable generation in Ontario.

This integrated approach to investment, planning, and cost allocation will lay the framework for appropriate and reliable electricity infrastructure development consistent with the Board's objectives, including its new objectives under the Green Energy and Green Economy Act, 2009.