BILL NO. 78

(as introduced)

2nd Session, 61st General Assembly
Nova Scotia
59 Elizabeth II, 2010

Government Bill

Public Utilities Act
(amended)

The Honourable Graham Steele
Minister of Finance

First Reading: November 1, 2010

(Explanatory Notes)

Second Reading: November 4, 2010

Third Reading: November 25, 2010 (LINK TO BILL AS PASSED)

Clause 1 changes the definition of a small business with respect to the duties of the small business advocate, basing it on the type of business, the rate class and the service tariff applying to a business and the consumption of utility services instead of on the number of employees.

Clause 2 provides that the same person may not be both the consumer advocate and the small business advocate.

1 (1) Subsection 92(1) of Chapter 380 of the Revised Statutes, 1989, the Public Utilities Act, as enacted by Chapter 31 of the Acts of 2008, is repealed and the following subsection substituted:

(1) In this Section,

(a) "prescribed" means prescribed by the regulations made pursuant to subsection (7);

(b) "small business" means a business

(i) of a prescribed type,

(ii) to which prescribed rate classes and service tariffs approved by the Board for a utility apply, and

(iii) that annually consumes the services of the utility within prescribed limits.

(a) prescribing the criteria and attributes that the type of business for the purpose of subclause (1)(b)(i);

(aa) prescribing the rate classes and service tariffs for the purpose of subclause (1)(b)(ii);

(ab) prescribing the limits of annual consumption of utility services for the purpose of subclause (1)(b)(iii).

2 Chapter 380 is further amended by adding immediately after Section 92 the following Section:

93 The same person must not be appointed as both the consumer advocate under Section 91 and the small business advocate under Section 92.