Orders

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, Chapter 473

and

A Filing by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Mandatory Reliability Standards Assessment Report No. 6

and the Determination of Reliability Standards for Adoption in British Columbia

BEFORE:               L.F. Kelsey, Commissioner

                                C.A. Brown, Commissioner

                                N.E. MacMurchy, Commissioner                               July 25, 2013

                                B.A. Magnan, Commissioner

                                D.M. Morton, Commissioner

                                R.D. Revel, Commissioner

O  R  D  E  R

WHEREAS:

A.    Pursuant to section 125.2(2) of the Utilities Commission Act (the Act) the British Columbia Utilities Commission (the Commission) has exclusive jurisdiction to determine whether a “reliability standard”, as defined in the Act, is in the public interest and should be adopted in British Columbia;

B.    In order to facilitate the Commission’s consideration of reliability standards, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) is required under section 125.2(3) of the Act to review each reliability standard and provide the Commission with a report assessing:

(a)    any adverse impact of the reliability standard on the reliability of electricity transmission in British Columbia if the reliability standard were adopted;

(b)   the suitability of the reliability standard for British Columbia;

(c)    the potential cost of the reliability standard if it were adopted; and

(d)   any other matter prescribed by regulation or identified by order of the Commission;

C.    On May 24, 2013, BC Hydro submitted Mandatory Reliability Standards (MRS) Assessment Report No. 6.  In the Report, BC Hydro did not recommend Standard PRC-004-2a for adoption in BC at this time.  BC Hydro stated that the standard could not be properly assessed because PRC-004-2a makes reference to “regional entity’s procedures” which BC Hydro stated were not provided by the Commission;

D.    In a letter dated July 3, 2013, the Commission provided BC Hydro with the Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s (WECC) criterion PRC-003-WECC-CRT-l and the corresponding reporting template, which together describe the procedures for reporting under PRC-004-2a.  In the same letter, the Commission requested BC Hydro to provide the assessment of PRC-004-2a as an Addendum to the Report as soon as possible, and the Commission expects this Addendum will be provided in September 2013;

E.    Pursuant to section 125.2(5)(a) of the Act, the Commission will post Assessment Report No. 6 on its website at www.bcuc.com and invites public comments on the Assessment Report;

F.    The Commission will post the Addendum to Report No. 6 on its website when it is received from BC Hydro;

G.   The Commission wishes to establish a Regulatory Timetable for production of the Addendum to Assessment Report No. 6 and for public comment and review of the reliability standards assessed in Assessment Report No. 6 and the Addendum.

NOW THEREFORE the Commission orders as follows:

1.    British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority is directed to provide an Addendum to Assessment Report No. 6 addressing Reliability Standard PRC-004-2a by Monday, September 30, 2013, to enable the Commission to post the Addendum on the Commission’s website by Tuesday, October 1, 2013, for comment.

2.    In accordance with the Regulatory Timetable attached as Appendix A to this Order, any person wishing to comment on the reliability standards assessed in Assessment Report No. 6 or the Addendum must deliver written comments to the Commission by no later than Tuesday, October 15, 2013.

3.    BC Hydro must file its comments with the Commission in response to the public comments received by no later than Tuesday, October 29, 2013.

4.    The Commission may, if it considers necessary, deliver information requests to BC Hydro and/or person(s) who have submitted comments.  Any such information requests will be delivered by Monday, November 12, 2012, and recipients of the information requests must file responses by Friday, November 27, 2012.

5.    BC Hydro must post the Assessment Report No. 6 to its website no later than August 1, 2013, and must post the Addendum the same day it is filed with the Commission.

6.    BC Hydro will send a letter of notification to each entity who replied to its Assessment Report No. 6 consultation process advising them of the Report filing and the Commission’s review process.

7.    BC Hydro will send a letter of notification to each entity who replied to its Assessment Report No. 6 consultation process advising them of the Addendum filing.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this        25^th     day of July 2013.

                                                                                                                                BY ORDER

                                                                                                                            Original signed by:

                                                                                                                                D.M. Morton

                                                                                                                                Commissioner

Attachment

Appendix A

to Order R-30-13

Page 1 of 1

A Filing by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Mandatory Reliability Standards Assessment Report No. 6

and the Determination of Reliability Standards for Adoption in British Columbia

Regulatory Timetable