The Ontario Legislature passed legislation at the end of April that will pave the way towards additional protection for energy consumers – just not right away.
The legislation comes after hundreds of complaints about the practices of energy retailers who have used deceptive practices to dupe people into signing lengthy and expensive energy contracts, and complaints from tenants over charges. The Advertiser published several articles about retailers’ practices in the past year.
Once in force on Jan.1, the legislation will lead to new rules and regulations which:
– protect consumers from hidden costs, excessive cancellation fees, and other unfair industry practices;
– provide greater fairness and transparency for consumers through rate comparisons, plain language disclosure available in multiple languages, enhanced rights to cancel contracts and new rules for energy retailers and their employees; and
– enable individual suite metering in apartment buildings, to give tenants more control over energy costs.
The province is hoping the Energy Consumer Protection Act ensures consumers will have the information they need to make the right decisions about electricity contracts, and confidence that they are protected by fair business practices.
Until new regulations are in force, energy consumers are encouraged to be familiar with the protection offered under existing rules.
Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Brad Duguid said, “Establishing rules for fair market practices will mean Ontarians can make informed energy choices.”
A suite meter lets tenants pay for their electricity based on their actual consumption. That means consumers could lower their electricity bills by conserving or shifting their usage.
But it was a list of complaints that got the province moving on the issue. In the past three years, energy retailers cracked the top 10 list of consumer complaints received by the Ministry of Consumer Services.
The Ontario Energy Board still logs between 100 and 150 consumer complaints a week about the practices of energy retailers.Some practices have included forged signatures, and high pressure scare tactics, particularly against seniors.
