New COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program Available for PUC’s Small Business and Registered Charity Customers
A new program introduced by the Government of Ontario has allocated funds to assist small businesses and registered charities during these difficult times. The new program, COVID-19 Energy Assistance Program for small businesses (CEAP-SB), will help small businesses and registered charities who have fallen behind on their energy bills as a result of COVID-19. CEAP-SB is being delivered directly by electricity and natural gas utilities, including PUC Services, further to rules laid out by the Ontario Energy Board (OEB).
CEAP-SB is a one time, on-bill credit for eligible small businesses and registered charities to help them catch up on their energy bills and resume regular payments. Eligible customers can start applying on August 31, 2020.
Small businesses and charitable organizations are eligible for CEAP-SB if they meet all of the following criteria:
- 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.
- Your small business or registered charity is using less than 150,000 kWh of electricity annually if the account is with a unit sub-meter provider.
- Your small business or registered charity is classified as a general service < 50 kW customer if the account is with an electricity distributor.
- Your small business or registered charity did not have any overdue amounts on its electricity bill on March 17, 2020, the date of the Provincial Declaration of Emergency.
- As of the date you are applying, your small business or registered charity has any overdue amounts owing from at least two electricity bills since March 17, 2020.
- Your small business or registered charity was required to close* its premises to members of the public for regular operations for at least fifteen days as a result of a government order or an inability to adapt your business or charity to comply with public health recommendations.
* “close” means that the small business or registered charity was unable to maintain regular operations as a result of government order or health recommendations that required them to either fully close operations, limit access to their premises or limit the services provided or available to the public.
You may be eligible for an enhanced credit if your small business or registered charities main heating source is electricity.
If you are not eligible for CEAP-SB, your place of residence may still be eligible for residential CEAP or lower-income energy support programs. Please contact PUC for information on alternative programs. You may also visit the Ontario Energy Board's website for more information.
To apply, please visit https://ssmpuc.com/ceap-sb/ to download the application form. Applications may be mailed in or submitted via e-mail. CEAP-SB funding is limited; PUC Services will process applications in the order in which they are received. Submitting an application for CEAP-SB to PUC Services does not guarantee funding.
For more information, or to determine if you are eligible for CEAP-SB, please visit the PUC website or call our Customer Experience Team at 705-759-6522.
