Search

The Ontario Energy Board (OEB) is pleased to present our 2025/26 to 2027/28 Business Plan (the Plan), which focuses on fiscal year 2025/26 and includes forward-looking preliminary budgets for 2026/27 and 2027/28.

The demand for clean, affordable and reliable energy is increasing rapidly. Ontario is advancing a competitive all-of-the-above approach to meet this challenge, including using nuclear, hydroelectricity, natural gas, wind, solar and other sources to meet growing energy demands while emphasizing the province’s energy transformation and electrification goals.

The OEB’s role in the energy sector has never been more important. Although change is happening, in the sector and within the OEB, we are focused and ready to deliver on our mandate.  

This Plan lays out our near-term response: to provide strategic and prudent oversight of Ontario’s energy sector through initiatives that support broader government priorities such as planning for growth, keeping costs down, enabling energy system modernization and streamlining solutions that will make Ontario an energy superpower.  

Our work plan is informed by the Ministry of Energy and Mines’ (the Ministry) 2024 vision statement, Ontario’s Affordable Energy Future: The Pressing Case for More Power (the Government’s vision), which identifies energy priorities and provides policy guidance to the OEB on how to act within its legislated authorities. The OEB will support delivery of this vision by performing its adjudicative and other regulatory functions impartially, efficiently and transparently. 

OEB Business Plan 2025-2028

Business Plan 2025-2028 (pdf)

 

Letter from the Minister of Energy and Mines (pdf) (Aug 1, 2025)

 

A full financial review of the OEB was carried out in late 2020. Conducted by a third party, it served as a basis for establishing the 2021/22 operating budget and developing a three-year roadmap for activities which will sharpen the financial focus and deliver better value for money for those regulated by the OEB.

• OEB Financial Review Report (pdf) (Jan 29, 2021)
• Financial Review Management Response (pdf) (Jan 29, 2021)

The Stakeholder Engagement Framework sets out the OEB’s approach to engaging with stakeholders to ensure accessible and fair participation that is transparent, well planned and efficiently coordinated.

• Stakeholder Engagement Framework (pdf) (Jun 3, 2021)

Current Progress Report:

OCTOBER - DECEMBER 2022

OEB Stakeholder Engagement Purpose

The OEB engages with stakeholders to build mutually beneficial, enduring and trusted relationships with those affected by its work. Engagement is an integral part of the OEB’s ability to execute its mandate, gain insights and deliver sound policy decisions that support sector sustainability and innovation, Ontario’s economy and to protect consumers and provide public value.

 

groups

364

Interactions

Engagement with stakeholders is an important part of what we do in performing our mandate. We met with 364 stakeholders from October to December, 2022 on important OEB initiatives and consultations.

 

sms

14

Consultations

We met with stakeholders on 14 different initiatives to provide opportunities for meaningful input and allow the OEB to hear and incorporate feedback into its work.

 

diversity_2

15

Diverse partners

We engaged with 15 diverse stakeholder types that represent consumers, governments, intervenors, energy associations, interest groups, opinion leaders & academics, municipal, provincial and shareholder communities and regulated entities partners.

 

hub

25

Meetings

We consider stakeholder input consistently, transparently, and meaningfully across the OEB’s work. We met with stakeholders 25 times to create transparent and ongoing dialogue with our stakeholders from the strategic planning stage to the project implementation stage.

TESTIMONIALS from OEB Policy Day

“Good balance of hearing from OEB leadership and opportunity to provide feedback.”

“OEB staff that led the breakout rooms were great. They had a good handle of the issues and generated discussion.”

75% of Policy Day survey respondents found Policy Day an effective event that enabled their engagement with the OEB.

Outcomes & Evaluation

The OEB is committed to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of its engagement with stakeholders over time and will monitor and measure its progress. The OEB will regularly review the Stakeholder Engagement Framework (SEF) and will always welcome input from sector participants on improvement opportunities. This reporting period covers from October – December 2022.

Modernization @ OEB

• Recognized as one of Greater Toronto’s Top Employers for 2023
• Hosted Second Annual Policy Day
• Recognized with two International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Canada Silver Leaf Awards of Merit
• Published, in EDA's The Distributor magazine, an article highlighting efforts to drive modernization through Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• Issued Generic Hearings Protocol
• Launched consultation on the Reporting and Record-keeping Requirements

Previous Progress Reports:

• 2022-2023:
  • Q1 (Apr-Jun 2022)
  • Q3 (Oct-Dec 2022)
• 2021-2022:
  • Q1 (Apr-Jun 2021)
  • Q2 (Jul-Sep 2021)
  • Q3 (Oct-Dec 2021)
  • Q4 (Jan-Mar 2022)

In 2020, the OEB began conducting an annual survey of stakeholders to assess our year-over-year progress on stakeholder satisfaction.

• OEB Response to Ipsos Survey (pdf) (Feb 24, 2023)
• OEB Response to Ipsos Survey (pdf) (Feb 10, 2022)
• OEB Response to Ipsos Survey (pdf) (Mar 29, 2021)

This Strategic Plan is a key planning document for outlining and communicating the longer-term goals of the OEB and how we will achieve them over the next five years. Aligned with the Strategic Plan, our Annual Business Plan will provide clear details each year on what we will be undertaking, with specific objectives and measures.

• 5-Year Strategic Plan 2021/22 to 2025/26 (pdf) (Apr 30, 2021) 
• Year One Focus (pdf) (Apr 30, 2021)

The Top Quartile Regulator project is an initiative designed to move the OEB towards regulatory excellence by taking action on the recommendations of the OEB Modernization Review Panel. The report summarizes research that was conducted on best practices and ideas from other jurisdictions, examines areas where the OEB should improve its performance and provides a series of proposed initiatives designed to enhance the OEB’s performance in those areas to the level required of a top quartile regulator.

• Top Quartile Regulator Report - Phase 1 (pdf) (Mar 31, 2021)
• Executive Summary (pdf) (Mar 31, 2021)

The Board of Directors has the authority to make by-laws governing the business and affairs of the OEB.

• By-law #1 (pdf) (Oct 1, 2022)
• By-law #2 (pdf) (Oct 2, 2020)

The OEB follows the conflict of interest rules set out in Ontario Regulation 381/07—Conflict of Interest Rules for Public Servants (Ministry) and Former Public Servants (Ministry). 

• Conflict of Interest Rules for Public Servants (Ministry) and Former Public Servants (Ministry)

The OEB recovers its operating and capital costs through assessments to the natural gas and electricity market participants that it regulates. The cost assessment model is the approach used by the OEB to allocate costs.

• Cost Assessment Model (pdf) (effective Apr 1, 2025)