December 23, 2003
2003-32
The Office of the Fire Marshal (OFM)
has received inquiries from fire departments about electrical utility companies
disconnecting electricity to private residences due to non-payment of bills. The
fire service has expressed concerns that electrically powered smoke alarms are
rendered inoperative and other fire and life safety hazards may result when the
power is disconnected.
In November 2002, the Ministry of Energy directed electricity providers not to
disconnect electricity during the winter months in cases of non-payment of
electricity bills. This moratorium ended on March 31, 2003; utility companies
can once again proceed with their normal collection processes-including the
disconnection of power.
The OFM raised the fire and life safety concerns with the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).
The OEB subsequently arranged a meeting with representatives from the OFM, OEB,
Electrical Distributors Association (EDA), Electrical Safety Authority (ESA),
Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Ontario Municipal Fire
Prevention Officers Association (OMFPOA), and the Canadian Fire Alarm
Association (CFAA).
The EDA estimates that there are as many as 50,000 disconnections occurring
annually for non-payment. In addition, the ESA may make up to 100 disconnections
annually for electrical safety reasons.
To address public safety concerns, the meeting participants decided on a course
of action, which included the following two recommended actions:
The OEB should modify their Distribution Systems Code to include a requirement
for electrical distributors to provide a safety notification to customers when
electrical disconnections are being made.
Consequently, the Electrical Distribution Code will be amended to include this
requirement with a statement such as “prior to disconnecting a customer, a
distributor shall provide the customer with the current standard Electricity
Disconnection Fire Safety Notice, for Residential Dwelling Units (Houses or
Apartment Units) or for Other Buildings and Occupancies, as the case may be,
published by the Office of the Fire Marshal, Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services, and available on its Web site or otherwise,” or with
other words to that effect.
Proposed changes to the Distribution Systems Code are currently being reviewed
by OEB management and have been sent to stakeholders for comment. The OEB will
consider all comments before deciding whether to amend the Code and how to do
so.
Electricity Disconnection Fire Safety Notice (HTML / PDF)
Avis de sécurité-incendie (HTML / PDF)
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