ORDER NUMBER
G-37-25
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
Richmond Hamilton South Holdings Ltd.
Stream A Registration of the TES at 23200 Gilley Road
BEFORE:
B. A. Magnan, Commissioner
E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner
on February 20, 2025
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On January 10, 2025, Richmond Hamilton South Holdings Ltd. (RHSH) filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) an application (Application) to register the Thermal Energy System (TES) located at 23200 Gilley Road as a Stream A TES, in accordance with the BCUC TES Regulatory Framework Guidelines (TES Guidelines);
B. On August 27, 2014, the BCUC issued Order G-121-14 granting an exemption to a person, or the person’s lessee, trustee, receiver or liquidator, who owns or operates in British Columbia a Stream A TES for the production, generation, storage, transmission, sale, delivery or provision of any agent for the production of heat or cold for compensation, with a capital cost less than a maximum threshold and greater than a minimum threshold, from sections 44.1, 45 and 59-61 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) for that specific TES. The exemption only applies if:
C. The person files information that allows the BCUC to determine that Order G-121-14 applies to the person’s specific TES; and
D. The BCUC determines that Order G-121-14 applies to the person’s specific TES;
E. On August 28, 2014, the BCUC issued Order G-127-14 approving the TES Guidelines and, on March 2, 2015, revisions to the TES Guidelines were approved by Order G-27-15;
F. On January 17, 2025, the BCUC issued BCUC Staff Questions No. 1 regarding the Application, with responses filed by RHSH on January 29, 2025;
G. On February 7, 2025, the BCUC issued BCUC Staff Questions No. 2 regarding the Application, with responses filed by RHSH on February 10, 2025;
H. In the Application and responses to BCUC Staff Questions No. 1 and No. 2, RHSH explains that it will serve both residential and commercial customers and that the customers are served by two systems that are independent of each other. Specifically, the commercial customers are served by air source heat pumps, and the residential customers are served primarily by the geo-exchange field and heat pumps. RHSH confirms that the TES facilities and its customers are located on a single site;
I. The TES Guidelines state that “[t]wo or more physically disconnected TES on a single site (single building permit), that are not physically connected to each other, will be considered a single TES (do not need to be physically connected)”; and
J. The BCUC has reviewed the Application and responses to BCUC Staff Questions No. 1 and No. 2 and is satisfied that the two TES at 23200 Gilley Road can be considered a single TES (23200 Gilley Road TES). The BCUC is satisfied that the 23200 Gilley Road TES meets the characteristics of a Stream A TES and is suitable for exemption.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 88(3) of the UCA and by the advance approval of the Lieutenant Governor in Council (Order in Council 400/14), the BCUC orders as follows:
1. RHSH is exempt from sections 44.1, 45 and 59 to 61 of the UCA for the 23200 Gilley Road TES.
2. RHSH must file with the BCUC an annual report for the 23200 Gilley Road TES, in accordance with Stream A annual reporting guidelines, as provided in Appendix B of the TES Guidelines, as may be amended from time to time.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 20th day of February 2025.
BY ORDER
Electronically signed by Bernard Magnan
B. A. Magnan
Commissioner