Filing Manual – Guide S – Access on a Pipeline (CER Act section 239)

Table of Contents

1. Goal
2. Filing Requirements
3. Guidance

An application pursuant to subsection 239(1) of the CER Act may request exemption from the requirement that a company operating a pipeline for the transmission of oil shall, according to its powers, without delay and with due care and diligence, receive, transport and deliver all oil offered for transmission by means of its pipeline.

An application pursuant to subsection 239(2) of the CER Act may request that the Commission require a gas pipeline or pipeline transporting a commodity other than oil to receive, transport and deliver a commodity offered for transmission.

An application pursuant to subsection 239(3) of the CER Act may request that the Commission require a company operating a pipeline for the transmission of hydrocarbons or any other commodity authorized by a certificate issued under section 183 to provide adequate and suitable facilities for:

• the receiving, transmission and delivering of the hydrocarbons or other commodity offered for transmission by means of its pipeline;
• the storage of the hydrocarbons or other commodity; and
• the junction of its pipeline with other facilities for the transmission of the hydrocarbons or other commodity;

if the Commission finds that no undue burden will be placed on the company by requiring the company to do so.

Goal

The application includes information describing:

• the reason for the application; and
• the circumstances and correspondence between parties preceding the application.

Filing Requirements

1. Provide a detailed summary of the circumstances leading to the application.

2. Provide copies of all relevant correspondence between the applicant, the operator of the subject facility and any other parties that may be involved with the application.

3. For applications for an exemption from subsection 239(1), provide evidence that:

• an open season was held offering all of the capacity to be contracted to anyone interested in shipping; and
• allowing the exemption is in the public interest.

4. In the case of an application pursuant to subsection 239(3), the applicant should provide a description of the facilities that the pipeline company would need to install, including a cost estimate.

Guidance

The application should clearly explain what action the applicant would like the Commission to take and indicate whether the application raises any associated toll methodology issues. The applicant may provide potential alternative actions and reasons for selecting the requested action.

The application should also clearly explain the applicant’s need for the requested service or facilities and include all relevant information that could help the Commission understand the situation that has led to the filing.

A subsection 239(1) application should include copies of all notices of the open season, the timing and method of providing notice, all correspondence between the pipeline and parties interested in contracting with the pipeline and any expressions of interest in or concerns regarding the application. The applicant should also provide an indication of the results of the open season and a sample or standard form contract to indicate the arrangements contemplated.

The open season must be conducted in a manner which provides all interested shippers the same opportunity to participate and allows adequate time for their consideration of the issues.

The Commission expects that the applicant under subsection 239(2) or (3) would have requested the subject pipeline operator to provide access or adequate and suitable facilities and that request would have been rejected prior to filing an application. The Commission would normally seek comments from the pipeline operator after an application has been filed before determining how to proceed with the application.

For subsection 239(2) or (3) applications, all relevant correspondence between the applicant and the subject pipeline operator should be included so the Commission is aware of the issues that have been discussed. Correspondence with other affected parties should be included where the correspondence would provide clarity and assist the Commission in its decision.