Bill 24 2003

An Act to amend the
Electricity Act, 1998

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

1.  Subsections 31 (4) and (5) of the Electricity Act, 1998, as enacted by the Statutes of Ontario, 2002, chapter 23, section 3, are repealed and the following substituted:

Exception

(4)  A distributor shall not shut off the distribution of electricity to a property under subsection (1),

(a) during the period that begins on November 11 of a year and ends on March 31 of the following year; or

(b) during any other period prescribed by the regulations.

Restoration of electricity

(5)  If a distributor shuts off the distribution of electricity to a property under subsection (1) during a period described in subsection (4), the distributor shall, as soon as possible,

(a) restore, without charge, the distribution of electricity to the property; and

(b) compensate any person who suffered a loss as a result of the shut-off of electricity distribution.

Commencement

2.  This Act comes into force on November 10, 2004.

Short title

3.  The short title of this Act is the Electricity Amendment Act, 2003.

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EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill repeals and replaces subsections 31 (4) and (5) of the Electricity Act, 1998. A distributor is prohibited from shutting off the distribution of electricity during the period that begins on November 11 and ends on March 31 of the following year or during any other period prescribed by regulation.

A distributor that shuts the distribution of electricity during a period in which it is prohibited from doing so must restore the distribution without charge and compensate any person who suffered a loss as a result of the prohibited shut-off.