Regulator Accepts Assurance of Voluntary Compliance from Retail Supplier

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) has accepted an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance filed by Sunwave Gas & Power Inc. concerning a self-reported error in the required price comparison templates.

Sunwave had self-reported that during the period from May 1, 2013 to July 31, 2013, it administered a Price Comparison document to consumers containing a calculation error in Part B of the document.

Sunwave advised that the error affected 585 of its retail electricity contracts, 236 of which were re-affirmed (i.e. verified) by the customer.

Specifically, while Sunwave included the correct forecast unit cost of the Global Adjustment of 6.61 cents/kWh, Sunwave erroneously calculated the total monthly number included in Part B of the Price Comparison document by using a value of 6.01 cents/kWh. The calculation error resulted in Sunwave understating (in Part B of the Price Comparison document) the total monthly forecast of the Global Adjustment by $4.08.

Under the Assurance of Voluntary Compliance, Sunwave has agreed to send a notice and updated comparison to affected customers, and provide such customers with the ability to return to default service without penalty.

Sunwave provided the following statement to Matters:

"The integrity of our customer relationships is our number one concern at Sunwave, and when this issue was identified we immediately brought it to the attention of the OEB and worked collaboratively with them to arrive at a solution to address the relatively small number of impacted customers."