Role of the NEB in Canada’s Energy Transportation System
The mission of the NEB is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade on behalf of Canadians in a way that protects the public and the environment while supporting efficient markets. We do this using a whole-system approach based on evidence, data and feedback. The NEB’s Departmental Results Framework (DRF) articulates the outcomes that we are responsible for under our mandate in four areas.
Energy Adjudication
Energy adjudication processes are fair, timely, transparent and accessible.
When we assess a project application – large or small — our job is to study all aspects of the proposed project, identify potential issues and social, economic and environmental impacts, and make a decision or recommendation about whether a project is in the public interest. We will, as part of that process, assess what regulatory tools would be necessary to prevent potential harms from occurring e.g., examining the existing strict regulatory compliance requirements for any activity and identifying if additional specific conditions for the project would be necessary. We will also ensure individuals and group have access to funding to participate in a hearing, subject to the provisions of our Participant Funding Program.
Safety and Environmental Oversight
Harm to people and the environment, through the lifecycle of energy-related infrastructure, is prevented.
During regulation over the entire lifecycle of energy infrastructure, every activity – from site inspections to management system audits to emergency response evaluation exercises to the development of new regulations – is focused on identifying potential sources of harm and taking action to prevent it. We impose strict obligations on regulated companies to ensure regulated activities are safe, and harm is prevented. We view our regulatory oversight through a series of critical lenses – compliance and enforcement, management systems, and safety culture – that guide our approach to regulatory oversight and excellence.
We track company performance, regulatory actions, the consequences and results of those actions, the trends demonstrated year-over-year, industry performance as a whole, and the health of our energy systems. That data is invaluable information that enables analysis of where, why and how harms (incidents) and potential harms (near misses, non-compliances, etc.) occur, and enable the NEB and industry to take action to prevent them.
Go to Safety and Environmental Oversight
Energy Information
Canadians have access to and use energy information for knowledge, research and decision making, access to community-specific NEB-regulated infrastructure information, and opportunities to collaborate and provide feedback on NEB information products.
We study market trends, energy transportation, and emerging technologies to better understand the energy landscape in which we work, to provide Canadians with energy information of interest and relevance, and to identify and respond to emerging issues. We provide transparent information about pipeline safety performance, and use tools like interactive pipeline maps and visualizations of our data to make complex pipeline and energy market data user-friendly and accessible.
Engagement
Stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples share their perspectives and provide feedback regarding the NEB’s mandate and role, and NEB engagement activities with stakeholders and Indigenous Peoples are meaningful.
Our Indigenous and public engagement programs enable us to better understand and incorporate diverse knowledge, viewpoints and interests in our work, and to continually improve our regulatory activities based on feedback and learnings from Canadians and Indigenous communities.
In each of these four areas, we monitor and report on our performance against the high level outcomes, as well as track and monitor performance in the specific programs that fit under each core responsibility. This Performance Summary highlights performance in each area, with additional detailed program performance information for 2017-18 available on our website.
The NEB also has a number of internal service programs that are critical to support the delivery of our mandate. A more detailed account of our spending and performance across all core responsibility areas and internal services is provided in our annual Departmental Results Report. For an overview of our financial results, please see Appendix H.