Orders

 

ORDER NUMBER

G-7-19

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Application for Reliability Coordinator Registration with the Mandatory Reliability Standards Program

 

BEFORE:

A. K. Fung, QC, Panel Chair

W. M. Everett, QC, Commissioner

 

on January 11, 2019

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On October 29, 2018, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) submitted to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) its BC Hydro Reliability Coordinator (RC) Registration Filing (Application). Appended to the Application is BC Hydro’s September 4, 2018 application to the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) to register as the RC for British Columbia (BC);

B.      By Order G-227-18 dated November 30, 2018, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable including intervener registration, a BC Hydro workshop on the Application, intervener intent to file evidence and one round of information requests from the BCUC;

C.      On December 13, 2018, the BCUC sent a letter to BC Hydro requesting clarification on certification requirements described in the Application. BC Hydro responded to the BCUC on December 18, 2018. WECC subsequently filed a letter of comment clarifying its position on certification requirements on December 19, 2018;

D.      On December 19, 2018, BC Hydro held a workshop to review the Application and on December 21, 2018, the BCUC submitted its Information Request (IR) No. 1 to BC Hydro;

E.       On December 21, 2018, FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC) filed a letter indicating that it was premature for FortisBC to determine with certainty its need to file evidence and proposed that the BCUC issue a revised regulatory timetable that would allow intervener confirmation of intent to file evidence to occur after BC Hydro has filed responses to BCUC and Intervener IRs No. 1;

F.       By Order G-253-18 dated December 24, 2018, the BCUC amended the Regulatory Timetable to include a procedural conference to receive oral submissions from all parties on FortisBC’s request;

 

G.      On January 4, 2019, BC Hydro filed a letter with the BCUC requesting that the procedural conference be moved to a date following the submission of BC Hydro’s IR responses in order for all parties to make informed submissions regarding further regulatory process;

H.      On January 7, 2019, FortisBC, Catalyst Paper Corporation and British Columbia Old Age Pensioners’ Organization et al. submitted their first round of IRs to BC Hydro;

I.        By Order G-5-19 dated January 10, 2019, the BCUC amended the Regulatory Timetable and changed the date of the procedural conference;

J.        On January 10, 2019, BC Hydro filed a letter with the BCUC requesting an extension to the regulatory timetable set out in Order G-5-19 for the filing of IR responses and to change the date of the procedural conference, citing the significant and complex nature of the IRs; and

K.      The BCUC determines that an amendment to the date for BC Hydro to file its IR responses and to change the date of the procedural conference to follow the submission of BC Hydro’s IR responses is warranted.

 

NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 125.2 of the UCA and Section 2.2.4 of the Registration Manual, the BCUC orders as follows:

 

1.       The procedural conference date is amended and will commence at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30 2019, as set out in the Regulatory Timetable attached as Appendix A to this order. Further information on the procedural conference, including items to be addressed by attendees, is outlined in Appendix B to this order.

2.       Interveners must submit notice of their intent to file Intervener Evidence by Friday, January 25, 2019 at 12:00 p.m. (Pacific Time), as set out in the Regulatory Timetable attached as Appendix A to this order. Interveners intending to file Intervener Evidence must indicate the nature of the evidence (if it is in relation to the reliability coordinator certification process or not) and the timing of when the evidence would be filed.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this            11th               day of January 2019.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original Signed By:

 

A. K. Fung, QC

Commissioner

 

 

Attachments

 

 

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Application for Reliability Coordinator Registration with the Mandatory Reliability Standards Program

 

 

 

 

*Location:           BCUC Hearing Room

12th Floor, 1125 Howe Street

Vancouver, BC  V6Z 2K8

 

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Application for Reliability Coordinator Registration with the Mandatory Reliability Standards Program

 

 

The procedural conference will commence at 1:00 p.m. on Wednesday, January 30, 2019 in the British Columbia Utilities Commission’s Hearing Room on the 12th Floor at 1125 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2K8. The purpose of the procedural conference is to hear from British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) and all parties on the appropriate regulatory process for the review of the application and to hear oral arguments on the certification process.

 

The Panel requests that parties address the following items at the procedural conference:

•         Any significant time constraints and/or periods of unavailability which should be taken into consideration when establishing the regulatory timetable.

•         Any other procedural matters that parties want to bring to the attention of the Panel.

 

In addition, all parties will be requested to make final oral arguments on the timing and scope of the certification process at the procedural conference. Therefore, we ask the parties to come prepared to make these submissions and respond to questions relating to these submissions.

 

Participants are requested to email the Commission Secretary at Commission.Secretary@bcuc.com to confirm their attendance at the procedural conference by 12:00 p.m. (Pacific Time) on Friday, January 25, 2019. Participants who are unable to attend the procedural conference in-person may participate by teleconferencing. Please note in your registration if you require teleconferencing and indicate the names of the individuals who will be attending via teleconferencing.