Ontario Energy Board Announces Phased Approach to Implementing Capacity Information Maps
The Ontario Energy Board (“OEB”) has announced its plan to move ahead with implementing capacity information maps for licensed electricity distributors in a recent letter to the industry (“OEB Letter”).
The OEB will take a phased approach to implementation, beginning with Phase 1, which has an expected completion date of March 3, 2025. At a minimum, distributors will be expected to publish capacity information at both station and feeder levels, and remaining capacity should be calculated based on the annual summer or winter peak of the station or feeder.
In establishing this new requirement, the OEB hopes to remove barriers for electric vehicle (“EV”) charging station deployment, particularly with site selection and planning, to ensure Ontario’s readiness for the sector’s expected growth. In this article, we discuss the reasons for implementation and provide an overview of each phase.
Case for Phased Implementation / Implementing a Phased Approach
This latest initiative addresses a November 2023 Letter of Direction (“LOD”) written by then-Minister of Energy, Todd Smith. In his correspondence, the Minister requested that the OEB provide “clear direction to the sector” on “publicly available electric distribution capacity information,” among other issues, to facilitate the growing EV sector in the province.
The OEB has addressed the Minister’s request through its EB-2019-0207 Distributed Energy Resources (“DER”) Connections Review Initiative. The OEB’s DER Connections Review Working Group gathered insights on the potential benefits of capacity maps through a survey in March 2024. They received 45 total responses from distributors, EV charging service providers and other stakeholders, and the OEB published a summary of the results in June.
EV charging service providers and other stakeholders reported that providing capacity information would optimize the current information-sharing system by reducing the number of site requests to distributors. They also stated it would assist in site selection, reduce operational costs and empower customers to make informed decisions about investments in new electrical loads.
The OEB decided it would proceed using a phased approach to balance the needs and concerns raised by survey respondents. Distributors highlighted that sharing feeder-level capacity information would be easier to implement than street-level data and agreed that quarterly updates were feasible despite expressing a preference for semi-annual updates. Consumer groups, such as EV charging companies and DER providers, indicated that even if less information was provided, it would still be valuable when conducting preliminary site selection in a distributor’s service area in the planning stages.
Each stage of the OEB’s plan is discussed below.
Phase 1
During Phase 1, distributors will be expected to post capacity information maps at both the station and feeder level, based on their current technical capabilities and existing systems. Distributors that do not have this technology available may choose to use manual methods, such as colour-coded maps. The OEB cautions distributors to avoid making significant investments in implementing this phase.
Distributors are expected to update these maps on a quarterly basis.
Capacity maps must be published in accordance with the requirements listed in Appendix A of the OEB Letter. At the station level, distributors should identify the location and remaining capacity of transformer stations with a nameplate rating of 7.5 MVA or greater within its service area. At the feeder level, the map should provide distribution system capacity information based on feeder capacity at the breaker level for feeders operating at 8kV or higher. Remaining capacity should be calculated based on the annual summer or winter peak of the station or feeder.
Access to capacity information maps can enable DER providers to make informed decisions about investments in new electrical loads and to assess whether current distribution systems can accommodate additional load without major system upgrades. This may strategically guide the placement of new DERs, allowing for energy production at the community level and reducing strain on the provincial energy system.
Appendix B of the OEB Letter provides two sample capacity maps, reproduced below:
Example 1 – Advanced distribution system capacity map. Source: Con Edison Hosting Capacity Map
Example 2 – Colour-coded map (illustrative only)
The OEB has set a deadline of March 3, 2025, for distributors to complete Phase 1 implementation, acknowledging again that distributors may need to adjust their websites, processes and systems to adhere to these requirements. OEB staff will evaluate extension requests “on a case-by-case basis.”
Phase 2 and Beyond
Distributors will be required to post “advanced and consistent capacity information maps,” but the specific requirements of Phase 2 will be in development now through early 2025.
The OEB states that the objective of Phase 2 is “to provide customers with easy access to consistent and more detailed system capacity information across all distributors’ service areas.” The OEB encourages distributors to consider this objective as they implement Phase 1 and to contact the OEB to discuss implementation strategies and any potential challenges.
