2024–25 Annual Report of the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator

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ISSN 2563-3171

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2024-25 Message from the Lead Commissioner

Mark Watton, Lead Commissioner Canada Energy RegulatorOn behalf of the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator (CER), I am pleased to submit to the Honourable Tim Hodgson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, and to Canadians, the 2024-25 Annual Report of the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator.

The Canadian Energy Regulator Act (CER Act) establishes the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator and sets its mandate to exercise adjudicative functions in an independent manner. As required under Section 36 of the CER Act, this report is a full year account of the Commission’s 2024-25 activities in fulfilling its mandate pursuant to governing legislation, including the CER Act, the Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act (COGOA), and the Canada Petroleum Resources Act (CPRA), among others.

On 28 August 2024, we marked the fifth anniversary of the coming into force of the CER Act and the creation of the CER. The CER Act provided Canada with a renewed regulatory framework for energy infrastructure within Parliament’s jurisdiction and was one of the first pieces of Canadian legislation to reference the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration).

The Commission is committed to continuing its work to ensure the safe and efficient transportation of Canada’s energy, both for domestic consumption and for export. The Commission issued 606 decisions this past year, covering the areas of pipeline construction and operation, tolls and tariffs, export licences, exploration and production, abandonments, Leave to Open Orders and other matters that span the energy infrastructure lifecycle. The Commission decides these matters in a predictable and timely manner to provide certainty to investors and stakeholders, drive innovation and support sound projects that create jobs for, and provide energy to, Canadians. I am pleased to report that in the fiscal year 2024-25, the Commission met 100% of its legislated time limits.

Notable Commission proceedings included:

  • The final pipeline Leave to Open Order for the Trans Mountain Expansion Project (TMEP), which authorized the pipeline to operate and move crude oil and refined petroleum to the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby, British Columbia (BC). This was the last regulatory step before this project became operational.
  • The approval of tolls for South Bow GP (Canada) Ltd., formerly TransCanada Keystone Pipeline GP Ltd., to ensure the appropriate recovery of costs related to drag reducing agents (DRA). DRA are chemicals that can be used to increase the volumes of oil transported on a pipeline system.
  • Compliance matters related to revised abandonment cost estimate and set-aside filing requirements that hold companies accountable and ensure funds are available to properly abandon a pipeline at the end of its useful life.
  • Ongoing review of Trans Mountain’s final interim tolls on its expanded pipeline system, with oral proceedings anticipated in late 2025.
  • Consideration of Imperial Oil Resources N.W.T. Limited’s Variance of Operations Authorization 1210-001 and Line 490 Replacement Project applications, which is currently paused following a referral to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board environmental assessment processes.

In April and May 2024, the CER received two applications for pipeline certificates under section 183 of the CER Act. Pouce Coupé Pipe Line Ltd.’s application for the Taylor to Gordondale Project is for the construction and operation of approximately 90 kilometres (km) of new pipeline for the transportation of natural gas liquids and crude oil from northeastern BC into Alberta. Westcoast Energy Inc.’s application for the Sunrise Expansion Program is an expansion of the company’s existing gas transportation system throughout central and southern BC. Panels of three Commissioners are currently seized with each of these matters, each of which will receive submissions from varying participant perspectives, including those of Indigenous communities, landowners, and businesses about the potential effects and impacts of the projects.

The Commission is ever mindful of the CER’s commitment to Reconciliation and upholds this commitment in many ways. In addition to ongoing efforts to make our hearing processes more welcoming to Indigenous Peoples, Commissioners strive for continual improvement through enhancing our individual and collective cultural competency. Once again this year, we benefitted from opportunities to receive oral Indigenous knowledge from hearing participants and to incorporate those perspectives in our deliberations and decisions.

I would be remiss not to mention personnel changes within our team of Commissioners which occurred this past year. On 28 August 2024, we welcomed the appointment of Commissioner Jean-Denis Charlebois. Commissioner Charlebois brings a wealth of experience from his nearly 20 years of energy regulation work, including his previous roles as Chief Economist and Secretary of the Commission at the CER. Commissioner Wilma Jacknife, who was among the first Commissioners appointed when the CER Act came into force, completed her tenure on 27 August 2024. I would like to express my deepest appreciation for her insight, dedication and talented public service, which were invaluable to the Commission, the CER, and to our country.

I would like to extend my gratitude to my colleagues and to the dedicated staff of the CER whose contributions are pivotal to the successful regulation of Canada’s energy sector. We are committed and well positioned to fulfill our mandate in the coming year and into the future, in the face of whatever changes to Canada’s energy landscape may lie ahead.

Original Signed by

Mark Watton, Lead Commissioner
Canada Energy Regulator

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