CER Portal Support


  • What types of submissions can I use the CER Portal for?

    Project Notifications

    A company can submit project notifications ahead of applications under these sections of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act: section 214 (Facility or pipelines that are no more than 40km in length); section 183 (Pipelines greater than 40km in length); section 262 (International power line certificates); and section 298 (Offshore renewable and wind turbines).

    Section 214 Applications

    You can use the CER Portal to submit applications under section 214 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. These applications are for facilities or pipelines that are no more than 40km in length.

    Section 214 applications may include an application for certain associated activities under the Onshore Pipeline Regulations. These applications could include change in service (section 43); increase in maximum operating pressure (section 43); deactivation (section 44); reactivation (section 45); or decommissioning (section 45.1) of existing facilities. If the project is a designated project under the Impact Assessment Act, Physical Activities Regulations then the CER Portal cannot be used to submit your application. In that case you can submit using e-file found on the CER’s main website.

    Statement of Concern

    When a company files an application with the Canada Energy Regulator, they are required to notify everyone that may be impacted by the project that an application has been filed. Anyone that has specific concerns about that project can then submit a statement of concern to the Canada Energy Regulator within 21 days of the application being filed.

    A statement of concern can be submitted through the CER Portal from the Statement of Concern webpage.

  • What do I need to do before submitting an application or project notification?

    It is the responsibility of the applicant to make its case before the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator, following the requirements of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act (CER Act) and its regulations, as well as any other relevant legislation.

    Visit the CER website → Applications and Hearings main page for information and tools you will need to get started with your submission.

    Pre-work- Identify the type of submission required

    You can view the various sections of the CER Act and Regulations which require an application by clicking Submit Applications. Then, under the Proponents section click on any of the filings under the CER Act or Onshore Pipeline Regulations which are relevant to your project. See the Filing Manual figure 2-1 for a comprehensive guide to determine what type of application you need to make under the Canadian Energy Regulator Act.

    Pre-work – Download a template

    You can find downloadable templates for project notifications and section 214 applications on the CER Portal welcome page, before signing in. Completing the template in advance of your CER Portal submission will save you time. The templates include links to filing requirements and guidance which will assist you in preparing your submission.

    Pre-work – Collect all required information

    The CER Filing Manual and Electricity Filing Manual have been developed to provide further direction and guidance about how to prepare an application and the type of information the Commission would need to make its decision.

    The Early Engagement Guide outlines the CER’s expectations for companies during the early engagement stage of a project, before an application is filed. One expectation is that companies will notify the CER about certain upcoming applications at least 2 months in advance of exemption order applications and 4 months in advance of certificate applications.

    The Filing Manual provides guidance about how to prepare an application and the type of information the Commission of the Canada Energy Regulator would need to make its decision.

    Complete submission

    Project notifications and section 214 applications are submitted to the CER through the CER Portal.

    1. Log in to the CER Portal
    2. Select submission type
    3. Complete all required fields and submit
  • How do I get to CER Portal?

    From the CER website → under Applications and hearings → click on Submit applications and documents → the CER Portal can be found in Online Tools

    If you are a proponent, you can also find a link to the CER Portal under the Proponents section.

    If you are a person wanting to submit a statement of concern, you can find a link to the CER Portal’s Statement of Concern webpage under the Participants section.

  • Where can I find downloadable templates?

    You can find downloadable templates for project notifications and section 214 applications on the CER Portal welcome page, before signing in. The templates include links to filing requirements and guidance which will assist you in preparing your submission. Completing the template in advance of your CER Portal submission will save you time.

  • How to use CER Portal to make a submission

    First select the type of submission you would like to make: Project Notification, Section 214 Application or Statement of Concern.

    Visit the Statement of Concern webpage to submit a statement of concern, a CER Portal account is not needed.

    To submit a project notification or section 214 application: visit the CER Portal welcome page and log in to your CER Portal account. Select the company you are filing on behalf of, and from the company landing page select “Start new submission” to begin.

    You can see all the pages of the submission form in the left navigation bar.

    You can skip from page to page, using the next and back buttons at the bottom of each page or using the left navigation.

    If you run into challenges while filling out the form, please click the Support button, at the bottom right of the screen to access contact information for assistance

    The CER Portal uses webforms to complete your submission. The system will guide you through providing information based on your answers in the form. Answering all of the questions on a page will generate a list of filing requirements for that section. Information icons can be expanded to see additional guidance. You will be prompted to upload a file or add a comment to provide the required information. Even if the system does not generate additional filing requirements you may still choose to upload additional files or add a comment to support your application.

    Ensure you enter data for all the required fields and feel free to save the form and come back to finish it at a later time.

    Amber or red exclamation mark icons will alert you to areas of your submission which will need to be addressed before you will be able to submit.

    You will be able to preview the submission by clicking on “Download draft.”

    You can add email addresses to share your submission with others. The CER Portal will provide a copy of the submission to any email addresses you provide.

    You must read and agree to the Privacy Notice, Terms and Conditions before you can submit.

    Once you click “Submit”, your submission and filing receipt will shortly be available on the CER’s online public repository (REGDOCS).

    You will need to mail a copy of your submission, including all documents, and your signed filing receipt to the Canada Energy Regulator within 3 business days to officially complete your submission.

  • How do I register for a CER Portal account?

    GC Key

    First, sign in with your GC Key or create a new GC Key to get started. You can sign in with GCKey or with your bank. If you forget your GCKey username or password, select the Forgot your username? or Forgot your password? links on the GCKey sign-in page.

    Once GCKey sign in or sign up is complete click continue to return to the CER Portal.

    CER Portal Account

    Set up your CER Portal account. If you don’t receive a verification email within 5 minutes, check your junk or spam folder as email filters may block certain messages. If the email isn’t there, ensure you entered the correct address and try resending the verification link. If you still don’t receive it, email info@cer-rec.gc.ca for assistance.

    Once signed in to the CER Portal you can register as an authorized company representative by selecting your company from the dropdown list. You can register as a representative for more than one company. Contact the Canada Energy Regulator if your company is not listed.

    The Canada Energy Regulator will need to verify that you are an authorized representative for the company you selected before providing you access in the CER Portal. If you have never filed on behalf of your company before, the CER will need to reach out to the accountable officer of your company or another regulatory contact in order to verify your status as a company representative.

    We will aim to complete your verification within 24 business hours. You will get an email letting you know if your registration was approved. Then you can sign in again to access the CER Portal.

    Once your registration is approved you will be able to view and create submissions for any company for which you are an authorized representative. All authorized representatives of a company will be able to view and manage submissions for that company. Only one person will be able to edit at a time, however, so save your work frequently.

  • How do I submit a project notification?

    Pre-Work- Download a template and collect all required information

    First review the Early Engagement Guide and download a project notification template to complete this work ahead of your submission in the CER Portal. The Early Engagement Guide provides the project notification requirements that a company should complete ahead of their application to the CER.

    Downloadable templates of a project notification can be found on the CER Portal welcome page, before you sign in.

    Complete Submission in CER Portal

    Once you are ready to begin your submission, sign in to the CER Portal using your GCKey or sign-in partner. From your company’s landing page you will be able to view, manage and start submissions for that company. Click start new submission and select project notification.

    Application Type

    You can submit project notifications ahead of applications under these sections of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act: section 214 (Facility or pipelines that are no more than 40km in length); section 183 (Pipelines greater than 40km in length); section 262 (International power line certificates) and section 298 (Offshore renewable and wind turbines).

    Project Name

    First, type the name of your project, then select the applicable section of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act and click "Start project notification". The same project name will apply to your subsequent section 214 application.

    Complete required fields

    The CER Portal uses webforms to complete your submissions. The system will guide you through providing information based on your answers in the form. Amber or red exclamation mark icons will alert you to areas of your submission which will need to be addressed before you will be able to submit.

    Contact information

    You can select yourself or another authorized company representative to be the contact for the submission. The point of contact listed on your submission is the person at your company who should be contacted for any correspondence regarding the submission.

    Review and submit

    You will be able to preview the submission by clicking on “Download draft.”

    You can add email addresses to share your project notification submission with others. The CER Portal will provide a copy of the submission to any email addresses you provide.

    Once you click “Submit”, your submission and filing receipt will shortly be available on the CER’s online public repository (REGDOCS).

    After you submit

    Remember to mail a copy of your submission, including all documents, and your signed filing receipt to the Canada Energy Regulator within 3 business days to officially complete your submission.

  • How do I submit a section 214 application?

    Pre-Work- Download a template and collect all required information

    First, review the Filing Manual and Early Engagement Guide and download an application template to complete this work ahead of your submission in the CER Portal.

    Downloadable templates of the section 214 application form can be found on the CER Portal welcome page, before you sign in. Completing the template in advance of your CER Portal submission will save you time.

    Complete Submission in CER Portal

    Sign in to the CER Portal using your GCKey or sign-in partner.

    From your company’s landing page in the CER Portal you will be able to view, manage and start submissions for that company. Click start new submission and select section 214 application.

    Select or enter your project name. If you submitted a project notification in the CER Portal then you will see your project listed in the drop down list. If not click “Project name not listed” to enter a name for your project. Then click next to create your application.

    The CER Portal uses webforms to complete your submission. The system will generate more pages if needed depending on the scope of your application. The system will guide you through providing information based on your answers in the form. Information icons can be expanded to see additional guidance. Answering all of the questions on a page will generate a list of filing requirements for that section. You will be prompted to upload a file or add a comment to provide the required information. Even if the system does not generate additional filing requirements you may still choose to upload additional files or add a comment to support your application.

    Ensure you enter data for all the required fields and feel free to save the form and come back to finish it at a later time. Remember that while multiple representatives of your company can view the submission at any time, only one person will be able to edit during a session, so be sure to save your work frequently.

    Application scope

    Identify all exemptions you are asking for under section 214 of the Canadian Energy Regulator Act. Indicate the scope of your project, whether it is for a new facility or for modifying or replacing an existing facility. Along with your section 214 application, you can also apply for certain associated activities under the Onshore Pipeline Regulations. These could include change in service, increase in maximum operating pressure, deactivation, reactivation or decommissioning of existing facilities. If your application also includes relief under the Onshore Pipeline Regulations sections 43, 44, 45, or 45.1 then the system will generate additional pages for your application to address certain filing requirements specific to those activities. However, the entirety of your project, including those components being applied for under the Onshore Pipeline Regulations, must be addressed throughout the application as a whole.

    Project information

    Complete project information including purpose, description, commodity, cost, location, schedule and in-service date.

    Technical and facility information

    Complete technical and facility information including selecting what facilities are proposed and describing the integrity management, construction techniques and inspection frequency to be used. For each facility type, templates of the filing requirements can be found in appendix B of the section 214 application template. You can complete the applicable template and upload it here.

    Consultation

    Complete information about consultation on Indigenous matters and engagement matters.

    Economics

    Complete information about the economics of the project

    Project impacts

    Complete information about project impacts relating to engineering, environment, socio-economics, land, security and emergency management. All section 214 applications require a completed environment and socio-economic interactions table to be uploaded. This document should be uploaded in the “Additional documentation” step.

    Relief under Onshore Pipeline Regulations

    If your application includes relief under the Onshore Pipeline Regulations, you will be prompted to address filing requirements specific to those activities. If the project involves physical activities an environment and socio-economics interactions table must be uploaded in the additional documentation step of this application.

    If your application includes decommissioning activities then you will be prompted to complete and upload a decommissioning template which addresses the filing requirements associated with the decommissioning activities. The decommissioning template can be found in appendix A of the section 214 application template.

    Additional Documentation

    Maps, GIS data, and an environment and socio-economic interactions table are required to be uploaded in this step. Optionally, you may also provide references to company manuals or other documents being relied on for the project.

    Contact information

    Select which company representative should be listed as the contact for this project application. It could be yourself or another authorized representative from your company. The point of contact listed on your submission is the person at your company who should be contacted for any correspondence regarding the submission. For example, the CER will contact that person if additional information is required about the submission and notify them when a decision is made on the application.

    Review and submit

    Once you have completed your application you will have an opportunity to review the entirety of your application before you submit it. Amber and red exclamation mark icons will alert you to areas of your application which will need to be addressed before you will be able to submit.

    You can click Download draft for a PDF of your application to view exactly how it will appear on the CER’s online public repository (REGDOCS).

    At the bottom of the Review and Submit page, you can add email addresses to share your application with others. The CER Portal will provide a copy of the submission to any email addresses you provide.

    Once you are satisfied that your application is complete you may click submit, note that this action cannot be undone.

    After you submit

    When you click submit in the CER Portal your filing will shortly be available on REGDOCS. This will include all documents you uploaded as part of the application.

    You must still mail copies of your application, including all attachments, to the Canada Energy Regulator. The physical copy of your application is the official record.

    You must also provide a Notice of Application to all potentially affected persons, groups or communities after you submit.

  • How to file a Statement of Concern

    When a company files an application with the Canada Energy Regulator, they are required to notify everyone that may be impacted by the project that an application has been filed. Anyone that has specific concerns about that project can then submit a statement of concern to the Canada Energy Regulator within 21 days of the application being filed.

    You can submit your statement of concern through the CER Portal. From the CER website → under Applications and hearings → click on Submit applications and documents → then under the Participants tab click on Statement of Concern.

    On this page you will see all the applications for which you may submit a statement of concern. If your concern is not about a new project application, you should instead proceed through the Canada Energy Regulator’s complaint resolution process.

    A red icon that says closed, means that the application was filed more than 21 days ago and the statement of concern process is now closed. You may still start a late submission for those projects with a valid reason for filing late.

    If there is a green icon that means the application was filed less than 21 days ago and the statement of concern process is open. Simply click “Start Submission” to begin.

    Enter your name and contact information. If you are filing on behalf of someone else, click yes and you will be able to include the name of who you are filing for.

    Record details about your concerns and suggestions in the comment box provided. You may also upload PDF files to support your submission.

    If you would like the CER Portal to send your statement of concern to others, click Add email to provide their email addresses.

    Ensure all the required fields are complete before clicking next. Red exclamation mark icons will alert you to any sections of the form that need to be addressed before you can continue.

    Before you can submit, you will need to read and agree to the privacy notice terms and conditions which tell you important information about how the Canada Energy Regulator will use the information you provide in your statement of concern, including that your submission will be publicly available on the Canada Energy Regulator’s website. You may download a copy of the privacy notice to save it for your records. You can use the back button at the bottom of the page to go back to the previous page. If you need help, click on the support button at the bottom right of the page to access contact information for the Canada Energy Regulator.

    When you are ready to submit, click the submit button. You will be asked to perform a validation. Then your statement of concern, and a filing receipt, will shortly be available on REGDOCS, which is the Canada Energy Regulator’s online public document repository. Your submission will also be emailed to any of the email addresses you provided. You will still need to mail a copy of your submission, including all documents, and your signed filing receipt to the Canada Energy Regulator within 3 business days to officially complete your submission.

  • How will my document submission show up in REGDOCS?

    When you click submit in the CER Portal your filing will shortly be available on the CER’s online public repository (REGDOCS). This will include all documents you uploaded as part of the submission. Each section of the section 214 application form provides an opportunity to upload attachments at the end of that section. Those attachments will also appear in REGDOCS along with the application in the same order in which they are uploaded.

  • What if I need more help?

    Visit the CER Portal and use the ‘Support’ button to contact the CER for help with CER Portal.

    Email: info@cer-rec.gc.ca

    Telephone: (403) 292-4800
    Telephone (toll free): 1 (800) 899-1265

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