The appellant telecommunications carriers appealed an Ontario Energy Board (OEB) order approving an increase in the pole attachment rate charged by Hydro Ottawa.
The appellants argued the OEB breached procedural fairness and fettered its discretion by applying a 2005 methodology that the OEB acknowledged required review, and by refusing to hear evidence on a new methodology during the Hydro Ottawa hearing.
The Divisional Court dismissed the appeal, finding that the OEB reasonably deferred the methodology issue to an ongoing province-wide policy review.
The Court held that the OEB, as master of its own procedure, afforded appropriate procedural fairness and its decisions regarding the rate adjustment and the final nature of the order were reasonable.
