CER approves Trans Mountain settlement, establishing a new framework for tolls
CALGARY, AB, Sept. 28, 2026 /CNW/ — The Commission of the CER has approved Trans Mountain’s Tolls Settlement. This decision [Filing C41001] approves a new framework for how tolls, tariffs, and transportation services are managed on the Trans Mountain Pipeline System. Tolls are the fees a pipeline company charges customers to ship products, such as oil, on its pipeline. The Commission found that the tolls were just and reasonable.
This decision also allows Trans Mountain to contract up to 90 per cent of the pipeline’s capacity to shippers, an increase from the previously approved allocation of 80 per cent.
The Commission found that the agreement reached by Trans Mountain and pipeline shippers met the criteria outlined in its guidelines for negotiated settlements. These guidelines help ensure that negotiated settlements result in tolls that are reasonable and applied fairly to all shippers.
The Commission also determined that Trans Mountain can still ensure other shippers have meaningful access to available pipeline capacity.
The approved settlement resolves disagreements between Trans Mountain and its shippers on how the costs of the expansion project should be shared. As a result, the RH-002-2023 proceeding has been cancelled.
The Commission did not receive any comments opposing the negotiated settlement from parties with a commercial interest in the resulting tolls.
Quick Facts
- The Trans Mountain pipeline system is approximately 1,180-kilometres long extending from Edmonton, Alberta, to Burnaby, British Columbia. The original Trans Mountain pipeline was built in 1953.
- The expansion project, completed in 2024, expanded the pipeline system’s nominal capacity from approximately 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to 890,000 bpd.
- The Trans Mountain system transports a range of crude oil and refined petroleum products to multiple destinations in British Columbia, including the Westridge Marine Terminal for export to international markets.
- Negotiated settlements are a way for pipeline companies to resolve traffic, tolling and tariff matters with commercial parties without resorting to a hearing. The Commission’s Settlement Guidelines are long-standing regulatory expectations for negotiated settlements of traffic, tolls and tariffs.
- The Commission is responsible for adjudicative decisions and recommendations, operating as a quasi-judicial body that is arm’s length from other parts of the CER governance structure and the federal government.
Associated Links
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SOURCE Canada Energy Regulator
