IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, Chapter 473
and
FortisBC Inc.
Demand Side Management Program Budget 2012 Transfer Application
BEFORE: L.F. Kelsey, Commissioner
D.M. Morton, Commissioner
N.E. MacMurchy, Commissioner May 9, 2013
B.A. Magnan, Commissioner
C. van Wermeskerken, Commissioner
O R D E R
WHEREAS:
A. On August 15, 2012, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) issued Order G-110-12 approving, among other things, FortisBC Inc.’s (FortisBC) Utilities Commission Act section 44.2 expenditure request for Demand Side Management (DSM) programs in the amounts of $7.73 million in 2012 and $7.88 million in 2013. The Order required prior Commission approval for budget transfers into or out of an approved sector greater than 25 percent of that sector, and recommended that, where feasible, requests should be presented to FortisBC’s DSM Advisory Committee for feedback before the approval request is made to the Commission;
B. On March 28, 2013, FortisBC filed its Semi-Annual DSM Report (the DSM Report) ending December 31, 2012, with the Commission. The total Commercial sector programs were overspent by 37 percent at year end and the total Residential sector programs were underspent at year end by 31 percent. Overall the DSM program expenditures were 94 percent of plan;
C. On May 2, 2013, FortisBC requested Commission approval to transfer the unspent 2012 DSM Residential sector budget to the Commercial sector (Application). FortisBC states the 2012 DSM program results were reviewed with the DSM Advisory Committee on March 12, 2013, and that the DSM Committee provided its feedback regarding the results and voiced no concerns regarding the notional transfer between sectors;
D. FortisBC acknowledged in the Application that Order G-110-12 requires prior approval of the budget transfer, and to rectify non-compliance it commits to file an application for approval of a budget transfer prior to exceeding any sector budget greater than 25 percent in the future;
E. The Commission has considered FortisBC’s request for approval of the 2012 DSM budget transfer and determined that the request is the public interest.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 44.2 of the Utilities Commission Act, the Commission approves FortisBC’s request to transfer the unspent 2012 DSM Residential sector budget to the commercial sector. The Commission accepts FortisBC’s commitment to file for approvals in a manner compliant with Commission Orders; however, this acceptance does not preclude the Commission from a further review of this matter.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 10th day of May 2013.
BY ORDER
Original Signed by:
D.M. Morton
Commissioner