Collection, use and disclosure of personal information by the Alberta Utilities Commission
The
Alberta Utilities Commission is a quasi-judicial agency of the Alberta
government which makes independent decisions in accordance with relevant
statutes and regulations.
The AUC is
authorized to collect and use certain personal information in compliance with
Alberta's Freedom of
Information and Protection of Privacy Act, which states that
"No personal information may be collected by or for a public body unless
that information is necessary for an operating program or activity of the
public body."
Personal
information collected by the AUC will be used only for the purpose for which it
was collected or for a use consistent with that purpose.
The AUC
does not automatically gather any personal information from you, such as email
addresses. This information is only obtained if you supply it voluntarily by
initiating contact with us, contributing to our social media site(s), or by
registering with us for an AUC proceeding, hearing or consultation using AUC Engage.
We do not collect personal information for any general purposes, and we do not
collect personal information for commercial marketing. We only share the
personal information you give us with government departments or agencies if
your inquiry relates to that department and the sharing is permitted by law.
Public availability of personal information in AUC hearings or proceedings
The AUC’s policy is that its hearings and proceedings
should be open and transparent. The AUC therefore places all material it
receives in the course of a proceeding on the public record so that all
affected parties can have access to it. Filings, however, are not generally
accessible through internet search engines.
If you submit comments or any other material, in any
format (for example, email, fax or regular mail), related to an AUC proceeding,
either written or oral, such as a facility hearing or a rate hearing, those
comments will be filed in the relevant proceeding and will be available to the
public through the AUC’s eFiling System available on our publicly
accessible website.
Due to the nature of AUC proceedings your filing may
contain personal information. Personal information may include your name, email
address, financial information or health information, for example, or any other
personal information you choose to provide.
If you do not want your personal information on the
public record, you may contact us to determine how the personal information
contained in your filing may be treated in confidence in accordance with Rule 001: Rules of Practice,
Section 4. Requests for confidentiality can be made by emailing the AUC’s
Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) coordinator at
foip@auc.ab.ca or by calling 403-592-4376. However, the AUC will require a
confidential, un-redacted, version of your filing for its use and the use of
others registered in the proceeding. You should also be aware that parties to
an AUC proceeding are able to challenge requests for confidentiality.
Oral public hearings of the AUC are open to the public
and any information filed by you as part of the record, including personal
information, may be presented, discussed or challenged in public. This
information may also be disclosed by those in attendance to other parties or
used by the media. Most AUC hearings are broadcast live on the AUC public
website and this broadcast is subsequently publicly available for a certain
period of time. In certain circumstances a written transcript of the proceeding
may also be publicly available.
Additionally, following a hearing or other proceeding
the AUC may publish a decision which refers to any evidence on the public
record, or to the parties themselves.
Comments and questions submitted to the AUC
When you
submit a comment or question to us, if you choose to provide us with your
personal information, for example in an email message to us, we use that
information to respond to you and to help us get you the information you have
requested. When you submit a comment or send us a question, you may be asked
for your name, email address, or other information. This information is only
used to process and respond to your question or comment. Unless otherwise
indicated, this information is not disclosed by the AUC except to its
authorized personnel that need the information in order to respond to you. The
information you submit via email is secure once it reaches the AUC server.
However, it may not be secure in transit between your computer and the AUC
server. If you prefer, you may fax, mail or phone us at the contact numbers and
addresses provided on our website.
Social media
The
AUC is an open and transparent agency and we welcome you to share, like and
comment on our social media content. It is important to note, however, that
though published comments are welcome, they are not considered official
submissions and therefore will not be part of the official record or considered
part of an official proceeding, nor will they be considered as a formal request
for the AUC to initiate action of any kind. To file an official submission, or
to participate in a proceeding you must follow the instructions set out by the
AUC on our website under Have your say
about a utility project or Have your say about
utility rates.
In
addition, the AUC respectfully asks that comments made on our social media
platforms be courteous and respectful. The AUC reserves the right to remove
inappropriate comments. Inappropriate comments are comments that the AUC
considers to contain obscene, indecent or profane language, threats or
defamatory statements, or hateful language directed at a person or group based
upon race, colour, sexual orientation, national origin, ethnicity, age,
religion or disability. If you view something on our social media that may be
inappropriate please report it to webmaster@auc.ab.ca.
Commenters may be notified that their comments have been deleted.
As
an independent quasi-judicial agency we also ask that you refrain from
publishing comments on our social media outlets which promote or endorse
products, services or partisan political activity.
Comments
published on our social media sites do not necessarily reflect the views of the
Commission members, its staff or the government and cannot be relied upon for
accuracy or completeness. All comments made are voluntary and the information
is publicly available. By publishing material on this site you therefore agree
to disclose the information you provide.
Utility
related concerns cannot be resolved through social media due to privacy
concerns and requirements for us to investigate your account. If you are
dissatisfied with your utility service provider please consult our resources
under Have your
say questions concerns or billing disputes.
Participation in AUC Engage consultations
AUC Engage, available through the Engage
link on the AUC’s website, facilitates consultations by allowing registered
users who have created an AUC Engage account to provide submissions on a
variety of topics. Submissions provided through AUC Engage are collected on
behalf of the AUC by Bang the Table Canada Ltd. The AUC’s use of personal
information included in these submissions is in accordance with this privacy
policy. Bang the Table’s collection and use of personal information included in
these submissions is in accordance with its privacy policy.
AUC Engage consultations may be public, by
invitation only, or private. A public consultation allows any person to view
submissions provided by any registered user, including any personal information
contained in the submission. Consultations by invitation only allow registered
users that have been invited to participate to provide submissions, which can
be viewed by any person, whether invited or not, through the AUC Engage
website. Private consultations are closed to the public and submissions may
only be provided, and viewed by, registered users that are taking part in the
private consultation. Following any consultation (public, invitation only, or
private) the AUC may prepare a public report containing personal information collected
through a consultation.
If you do not want your personal information publicly
available, you may contact us to determine how the personal information
contained in your submission may be treated in confidence in accordance with
Rule 001, Section 4, as described above. Alternatively, you may create an
anonymous AUC Engage account so information that would otherwise constitute
personal information is no longer identifiable to an individual.
Security
The AUC computer system employs software programs
that monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or
change information or to otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law
enforcement investigations, no attempts are made to identify individual users
or their internet usage habits.
Information you may be providing when using the internet
When you visit the AUC public website, our server
automatically collects a limited amount of information essential for the
operation and security of our website and the other sites that reside on the
server. Some of this information, browser type for example, does not identify
who you are, whereas other information, such as your internet domain name or IP
address, may identify you. The extent of personal identification depends, in
large part, on the naming standards followed by your internet service provider.
You may wish to check with them to inquire about their policies and practices
in this regard.
Also, please note that the AUC uses temporary
cookies on our website and certain features of our website may not be available
to you if your browser does not allow cookies. A cookie is a small amount of
data that is sent to your browser from a web server and is stored on your
computer's hard drive. This information is collected so that the user has a
faster and easier internet browsing experience. For example, when you type a
URL your computer remembers it and the next time you begin typing that URL it
will automatically pop up. Preference and option configurations in your browser
determine if and how a cookie will be accepted. You can change those
configurations on your computer if you desire. By changing your preferences you
can accept all cookies, you can be notified when a cookie is set, or you can
reject all cookies. If you reject all cookies and cookies are disabled, you may
be required to re-enter your information more often.
Employment search related information
Whether on our website or through other means of
contact, those people seeking employment with the AUC who post a resume or
submit other information are required to provide a name, address, phone number,
email address and other personal information necessary for the AUC to assess
the user's suitability for employment and to contact the user about employment
opportunities. The AUC does not sell or otherwise make any of this personal
information available for other purposes. Your personal information is not
accessible by other users seeking employment. Only AUC personnel involved in the
employment selection process will be permitted access to an employment
applicant’s personal information.
The AUC’s internal policy with regard to the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act
The AUC’s policy is to fully comply with the Freedom
of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FOIP) and any related
legislation. The AUC is committed to proper disclosure in accordance with the
Act to ensure transparency of its operations. It is also committed to having an
effective system for responding to related requests and is accountable for its
administration of the Act. The AUC will, where necessary, provide guidance and
training to help employees understand their duties and responsibilities to
ensure compliance with any legislation that deals with the collection, use and
disclosure of personal information, and with the AUC’s FOIP policy. The
AUC expects employees to comply responsibly with its FOIP policy.
If you have questions or want more information
about the AUC’s privacy policy please contact the AUC FOIP coordinator by email
at foip@auc.ab.ca or by telephone at 403-592-4376.
