Can a utility regulator retroactively change rates to replace or be substituted to those which were charged during that period?
Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
The following excerpt is from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro v. Newfoundland and Labrador (Board of Commissioners of Public Utilities), 2012 NLCA 38 (CanLII):
Retroactive ratemaking “establish[es] rates to replace or be substituted to those which were charged during that period”: Bell Canada v. Canada (Canadian Radio‑Television and Telecommunications Commission), 1989 CanLII 67 (SCC), [1989] 1 S.C.R. 1722 at 1749 (“Bell Canada 1989”). Utility regulators cannot retroactively change rates (Stores Block at para. 71) because it creates a lack of certainty for utility consumers. If a regulator could retroactively change rates, consumers would never be assured of the finality of rates they paid for utility services.
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