ORDER NUMBER
R-6-19
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
ARC Resources Ltd.
Application for Registration required for Compliance with
Mandatory Reliability Standards
BEFORE:
W. M. Everett, QC, Commissioner
on March 5, 2019
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On February 5, 2019, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), acting as the Administrator for the British Columbia Mandatory Reliability Standards Program (BC MRS Program), issued a Recommendation for Registration (Recommendation) of ARC Resources Ltd. (ARC) for the function of Distribution Provider (DP);
B. Section 125.2 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) assigns exclusive jurisdiction to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) to determine whether a “reliability standard,” as defined in the UCA, is in the public interest and should be adopted in BC. On June 4, 2009, the BCUC issued Order G-67-09 specifying that entities subject to reliability standards must register with the BCUC;
C. In accordance with the Administration Agreement between WECC and the BCUC, dated September 8, 2009 and renewed August 21, 2014, WECC makes registration recommendations in its role as the BCUC’s Administrator for the BC MRS Program;
D. Order R-40-17, dated September 1, 2017, approved the most recent version of the Rules of Procedure for Reliability Standards in British Columbia (ROP) including Appendix 1: Registration Manual. Section 2.1.2 of the Registration Manual states that entities that own, operate or use Elements of the Bulk Electric System (BES), as that term is defined in the North American Electric Reliability Commission Glossary of Terms adopted by the BCUC, are owners, operators and users of the BES and candidates for registration. The Registration Manual also describes specific criteria for functional registration as a DP;
E. WECC reviewed the ARC facilities and noted that ARC is the responsible Entity that owns, controls, or operates facilities that are part of a required Special Protection System or Remedial Action Scheme. Pursuant to Section 2.1.2 (a.2) of the Registration Manual, this qualifies ARC to register as a DP with the BCUC. In addition, ARC is the responsible Entity that owns, controls, or operates Under Frequency Load Shedding (UFLS) Protection System(s) needed to implement a required UFLS program designed for the protection of the BES. Therefore, WECC recommends that ARC be registered as a DP and WECC states that registration of ARC as a DP is consistent with what would be determined in the United States;
F. WECC recommends ARC be registered as a DP with an effective date of April 13, 2018, to coincide with the date ARC commenced operations;
G. Pursuant to the Registration Manual section 2.3, an entity has 21 days to file a response to a recommendation with the BCUC. ARC did not respond within the allotted time; and
H. The BCUC reviewed WECC’s Recommendation and considers acceptance of WECC’s Recommendation is warranted.
NOW THEREFORE, pursuant to section 125.2(10) of the UCA and in accordance with the Registration Manual that is Appendix 1 to the ROP, the BCUC approves the registration of ARC for the DP function effective April 13, 2018.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 5th day of March 2019.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
W. M. Everett, QC
Commissioner