PEI government moves to dismantle IRAC, split it into two new boards

Prince Edward Island's government is moving immediately to dismantle the Island Regulatory and Appeals Commission and replace it with two specialized bodies, Premier Rob Lantz announced after the release of the interim report of the Independent Review of IRAC [1]. Legislation to establish the PEI Energy and Utilities Board and the PEI Land and Appeals Board, both supported by a shared administrative tribunal, will be debated in the legislature this fall [1].

Lantz said the province will not wait for the review's final report, due Nov. 1, before starting work on recommendations directed at government [1]. "We are not going to wait for the final report on November 1st to start doing our part of the work," he said [1].

IRAC was created in 1991 to bring three separate bodies under one roof. Thirty-five years later, that same organization is being asked to set electricity rates, protect farmland, hear tenant disputes and decide planning appeals, all at once. That model is no longer working for Prince Edward Island and change is needed.Premier Rob Lantz

The government says the new bodies will be more transparent and make decisions faster [1]. A Transition Team will plan the move while ensuring no active appeal, application, licence or rate proceeding is delayed, restarted or disadvantaged [1].

The plan also separates the Residential Tenancy Office from IRAC, giving it its own office and budget, and establishes a merit-based commissioner appointment process with defined terms, an external and independent recruitment committee and mandatory performance reviews of all commissioners [1]. The government will create a Consumer Advocate or Intervenor to represent ratepayers and Islanders before the regulators, and formalize a communications protocol with IRAC that will transfer to the new bodies [1].

IRAC will move immediately on the commission's recommendation for an interim electricity-adequacy plan, and the government will review outdated policies and practices it says no longer serve their purpose [1]. Progress reports on the review's recommendations will be released regularly, and the province will legislate a requirement for an independent external review of the new entities every six years [1].

This is an interim report, and we respect that the Review still has work to do before the final report is made available. But our government is not waiting on the final report to start the work that needs to be done. Where a recommendation is ours to act on, it doesn't need a final report to be published, and Islanders don't need to wait any longer for a regulatory and appeals system that is more transparent, more focused, and more accountable to the people they are intended to serve.Premier Rob Lantz

The Independent Review was established in May 2026 under the Public Inquiries Act and operates at arm's length from both government and IRAC [1]. Commissioner Rory Francis released the interim report on Sept. 18, 2026, described as the first independent, arm's-length examination [1].

Islanders can provide feedback on the interim report until Oct. 2, and the commission will consider that input before submitting its final report on Nov. 1 [1]. The media contact is Nicole Yeba in the Executive Council Office [1].