For Immediate Release
2001-12-18
For further information contact:
Jim Keech, President and CEO, Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited, 546-1181 ext. 2217
KINGSTON ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION LIMITED UPDATES SHAREHOLDERS ON ELECTRICITY MARKET READINESS
Ontario Premier Mike Harris announced today the electricity market will open to competition on May 1, 2002 ending speculation about further delays.
The City of Kingston has been preparing for market opening since the introduction of the Energy Competition Act in 1998.
To comply with the legislation a new corporation called Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited (KEDL) was formed.
The company was formed in September 2000, as a Local Distribution Company (LDC) to distribute electricity. Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited is 100-percent owned by the
Corporation of the City of Kingston.
At the first annual Shareholders' meeting held Monday December 17th, staff advised the shareholders of Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited regarding recent submission to the
Ontario Energy Board.
Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited (KEDL) has submitted a Self Certification questionnaire in preparation for the anticipated electric market opening this spring.
Note: You can download a copy of the completed questionnaire: [KEDL-SelfCertQuestionnaire.pdf - PDF]
According to Jim Keech, President and Chief Executive Officer of KEDL, completion of the questionnaire marks an important milestone for the recently formed electricity company.
"We continue to prepare for market opening and expect that everything will proceed as scheduled for market opening," says Keech.
The OEB certification process specifically requires the president of Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited to certify that all billing systems have been tested "having regard
to the volume and frequency of transactions which the distributor is likely to experience".
This statement has created some concern for the local utility as well as other electric distributors.
In a letter sent to the Ontario Energy Board by the Electricity Distributors Association, a group that represents 92 utility companies, the association stated that without an
appropriate clarification, electricity distributor's may differ in their interpretation of the requirements, with some adopting a stricter interpretation than others.
Likewise, in a letter to the Ontario Energy Board, Jim Keech states "while Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited is satisfied that its systems are capable of meeting the
functional requirements, the system has not at this time been tested to our satisfaction, particularly with respect to the volume of transactions that may be required as part of
the cutover process".
The letter advised the Ontario Energy Board that Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited has chosen to apply a strict interpretation to the statement.
Keech concludes by saying that "as we approach market opening, Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited is committed to ensuring a smooth transition with the least possible
disruption to our customers. We look forward to completing our testing and assuring ourselves and the Board that the market will open as planned."
BACKGROUNDER
Since the introduction of the Energy Competition Act in 1998, much effort has been focussed on preparing for what is known as ‘market opening'.
Under the legislation, all municipally owned electricity distributors, as well as the former Ontario Hydro, have been required to form corporations to distribute electricity.
These corporations have also been required to separate distribution activities from electricity generation and retail or competitive activities.
Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited (KEDL) is the corporation formed in 2000 by the Corporation of the City of Kingston to distribute electricity as required by the Energy
Competition Act, 1998.
Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited is 100-percent owned by the Corporation of the City of Kingston and as the sole shareholder, is represented by City Council.
It is governed by an independent Board of Directors that include; Mayor Isabel Turner, City CAO Bert Meunier, President and CEO of Utilities Kingston Jim Keech and two private
citizens and residents of the City of Kingston, Mr. Todd Williams and Mr. Tom Morrow.
To maintain the converged utility operation that is unique to Kingston, Kingston Electricity Distribution Limited has formed an affiliated company known as Utilities Kingston.
The employees of Utilities Kingston manage and operate the electricity distribution assets owned by KEDL, as well as, the water, sewer and natural gas assets owned by the City of
Kingston.
Utilities Kingston, in turn, is governed by a Board of Directors. The Ontario Energy Board regulates the transmission and distribution charges, and is responsible for ensuring that
the reliability of the electricity system remains appropriate.
"Market opening" refers to the point in time at which competition among generators and electricity retailers will commence.
The province anticipates that competition will reduce costs of power on the electricity supply portion of your bill, (i.e. that portion of your bill that accounts for approximately
50 percent of your current bill today).
Information on electricity market deregulation can be found here: www.utilitieskingston.com.
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