AUC releases enforcement report for July to December, 2020

The AUC has released the enforcement report​ for July to December 2020, thanks to staff in the Market Oversight and Enforcement group.

The report summarizes the results of the AUC’s compliance and enforcement activities from July to December of 2020 under a number of categories. As one example, between July and December of 2020, enforcement staff concluded 22 investigations related to matters concerning rates, and terms and conditions of service. This is an increase from 17 investigations concluded between January and June of 2020.

Specified penalties are one tool the AUC uses to ensure utility customers in Alberta are treated fairly and that utilities respect the rules in place to protect both consumers and businesses. These penalties are a series of set fines that are applied when the AUC concludes that contraventions have occurred, with penalties increasing with the frequency of the contravention.

The AUC issued 24 notices of specified penalty between July and December 2020. In total, enforcement staff analyzed 72 events and the AUC issued letters advising of no penalty for 48 of those events. In comparison, between January and June of 2020, there were 111 investigations into penalty matters resulting in two no-penalty letters. No notices of specified penalties were disputed between July and December.

While this report primarily relates to the second half of 2020, the completion of the year also allows for the observation of enforc​ement trends for the whole of the year. In 2020, enforcement staff resolved 69 complaint matters and 183 penalty matters.

For complaint matters, if enforcement staff resolve a complaint without formally engaging a market participant, the matter is closed without the issuance of a letter. In more serious or complex instances where enforcement staff have engaged a market participant in an investigation, a letter is issued to both the complainant and the market participant advising parties of the results of the AUC’s investigation and any conclusions or findings. Notices summarizing the investigations are posted on the Complaint resolutions and AUC Enforcement decisions page of the AUC website.​​​