The Government of Ontario is providing $8 million for its new COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program – Small Business (CEAP-SB), to support small business and registered charity customers struggling to pay their energy bills as a result of COVID-19.

CEAP-SB provides a one time, on-bill credit to eligible small business and registered charity customers to help them catch up on their energy bills and resume regular payments.  The program is being delivered directly by electricity and natural gas distributors and unit sub-meter providers (USMPs), further to rules laid out by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).

You are eligible for this program if:

1. As of the date you are applying, your small business or registered charity has an active account with an electricity distributor or a unit sub-meter provider. You will be required to provide your registered business number or registered charity number.
2. Your small business or registered charity is classified as a general service less than 50 kilowatt (kW) customer if the account is with an electricity distributor, or
3. Your small business or registered charity is using less than 150,000 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually if the account is with a unit sub-meter provider.
4. As of the date you are applying, your small business or registered charity has overdue amounts owing from one or more previous electricity bill(s) incurred since March 17, 2020, the date of the initial Provincial Declaration of Emergency.

If you previously received funding under this program and are reapplying based on overdue amounts still owing, you may qualify for additional funding up to a total combined maximum credit of $1,500.

If you are not eligible for CEAP-SB, your business may still be eligible for property tax and energy bill rebates. More information can be found here: Ontario.ca/covidsupport

In addition, your primary residence may be eligible for residential CEAP or lower-income energy support programs. Please contact your utility for information on entering into a payment agreement. You may also visit the Ontario Energy Board’s website for more information.

Yes.

Customers who previously applied but were denied will have their original applications reviewed by utilities and will be contacted directly if they are determined to meet the new eligibility criteria.

Yes. If you previously received funding under this program and are reapplying based on overdue amounts still owing, you may qualify for additional funding up to a total combined maximum credit of $1500.

The previous eligibility criteria have been updated so that more customers may qualify for CEAP-SB. The requirements now are that the small business customer has:

1. a registered business number or charitable registration number for the business or registered charity operating out of the premises;
2. overdue amounts owing from one or more previous bill(s) issued since March 17, 2020; and,
3. provided a completed CEAP application form to the utility.

Additionally, the maximum CEAP-SB credit amount per customer has also increased to $1500.

Customers must apply for CEAP-SB through their electricity or natural gas distributor or USMP.

Electricity and natural gas distributors and USMPs will be making the CEAP-SB application form available on their websites and directly to any small business or registered charity customer that requests it.  Customers should contact their electricity or natural gas distributor or USMP directly as each may have a unique approach for application in-take.

At a minimum, customers can apply for CEAP-SB by email or by mail.  Some electricity and natural gas distributors utilities and USMPs may also have the capability to allow their customers to apply online or by phone.  Customers should contact their electricity and natural gas distributor or USMP to find out what options are available.

CEAP-SB funding is limited. Submitting an application for CEAP-SB to a utility or USMP does not guarantee funding.

Utilities and USMPs are expected to process applications in the order in which they are received, and to process complete applications within 10 business days of receipt.

No, but funding for the program is limited, and distributors and USMPs are expected to process applications in the order in which they are received. CEAP-SB funding is not guaranteed even after a complete application has been submitted.

The government is making $8 million available for CEAP-SB to support small business and registered charity energy customers. Each electricity and natural gas distributor and USMP has been allocated a share of that amount, based on their reporting on customer numbers. Each electricity and natural gas distributor or USMP will stop accepting applications and providing CEAP-SB credits once their allocated share of CEAP-SB funding has run out.

Eligible small business and registered charity customers may qualify for a total maximum CEAP credit of $1500 towards their electricity account.

An eligible CEAP-SB small business or registered charity customer that has more than one location can receive only one CEAP-SB credit towards their electricity bill and one CEAP-SB credit towards their natural gas bill, even if they have multiple locations throughout the Province the location can be different for electricity and natural gas. This will assist in achieving the government’s objective of making CEAP-SB available to help the most people affected financially by the COVID-19 emergency.

The pre-set maximum amount of support for eligible customers will assist in achieving the government’s objective of making CEAP-SB available to help the greatest number of small businesses and registered charities affected financially by the COVID-19 emergency. For the same reason, CEAP-SB funding will be available only once per customer for each of electricity and natural gas, even if they have multiple locations throughout the Province.

Utilities and USMPs are expected to process complete CEAP-SB applications within 10 business days of receipt.

Provided that a customer is eligible and their utility or USMP has CEAP-SB funds remaining when they assess the application as complete, the credit will be applied to the next available bill issued after that.

The government is making $8 million available for CEAP-SB to support small business and registered charity energy customers. Each electricity and natural gas distributor and USMP has been allocated a share of that amount, based on their reporting on customer numbers. The funding allocated to each class of energy service provider is as follows:

Electricity distributors: $4.625 million

USMPs: $53,700

Natural Gas distributors: $3.32 million

Each distributor and USMP has been advised by the OEB of their share of CEAP-SB funding.