Pacific Notthern Gas Ltd. and Northland Utilities Limited May 26, 1993 CAARS 1.0 BACKGROUND 1.1 Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. ("PNG"), a subsidiary of Westcoast Energy Inc. ("Westcoast"), received approval from the then Public Utilities Commission of British Columbia ("PUC") on December 5, 1966 for the construction and operation of a natural gas system extending from Summit Lake to Prince Rupert which would serve 13 communities. PNG provides service from a district office in Terrace and a head office in Vancouver. PNG's system is primarily an industrial gas transmission system which, by the end of 1992, was providing service to approximately 14,800 residential, 2,400 commercial and small industrial, and 14 special contract and large industrial customers in west-central British Columbia. 1.2 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited ("Northland") is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Northwestern Utilities Limited ("Northwestern") and a member company of the Canadian Utilities Group. Northland has two divisions, one in Dawson Creek and the other in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia. The Northland district office in Dawson Creek serves both Dawson Creek and Tumbler Ridge. The Northland district office reports to Northwestern's regional office in Grande Prairie Alberta, which, in turn reports to Northwestern's head office in Edmonton. 1.2.1 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited - Dawson Creek Division The Dawson Creek Division was granted a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity ("CPCN") on December 12, 1950 by the PUC for the construction and operation of a natural gas system in and about the Village of Dawson Creek. A similar CPCN was issued on November 17, 1954 for service within the boundaries of the Village of Pouce Coupe. When the Dawson Creek Division applied to provide service in and about the Hamlet of Rolla, the PUC issued a CPCN on July 6, 1962 which consolidated the service areas of Dawson Creek, Pouce Coupe and Rolla. By the end of 1992, Dawson Creek Division was providing service to 4,372 residential, 658 commercial customers and 1 industrial customer. 1
2 2 1.2.2 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited - Tumbler Ridge Division Northland was granted the right to provide natural gas service to Tumbler Ridge on April 1, 1982. The utility obtained grants, refundable at the end of ten years, totalling $1.2 million from Quintette Coal Limited ("Quintette") and the District of Tumbler Ridge ("the District") which were recorded by the utility as no-cost capital. Despite the contributions, the natural gas rates in Tumbler Ridge remained the highest in the Province. To confront this problem, on May 4, 1988, representatives of the District, Quintette, Northland, the Ministry of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources and the Commission reached agreement whereby: 1. Quintette and the District would relieve Northland of its obligation to refund their $1.2 million loan; 2. Northland would forego recovery of the accumulated shortfall of approximately $1.7 million; and 3. The Provincial Government would provide a contribution equal to the net book value of the processing plant at June 1, 1988 approximately equal to $1.8 million. By the end of 1992, the Tumbler Ridge Division was serving 1,172 residential, 79 commercial and 2 industrial customers.
3 3 2.0 THE APPLICATIONS AND HEARING PNG applied on March 12, 1993 for Commission approval, pursuant to Section 61(6) of the Utilities Commission Act ("the Act"), for the acquisition from Northwestern of all of the outstanding shares of Northland. The effective date of the purchase and sale is January 1, 1993 with an expected closing date of March 31, 1993 which date was subsequently extended to May 31, 1993. The purchase price is $2.5 million which is allocated as $800,000 for the common equity of Tumbler Ridge, $1.3 million for the common equity of Dawson Creek and an acquisition premium of $400,000. PNG reviewed the proposed acquisition with the Mayors and other municipal officials in the District, the City of Dawson Creek, the Village of Pouce Coupe and the Peace River Regional District. PNG did not believe that a public hearing was required for this Application and received written support for that position from the City of Dawson Creek and the Village of Pouce Coupe. While the District and the Peace River Regional District did not oppose PNG's acquisition of Northland, they requested that a public hearing be held prior to the Commission granting its approval. PNG requested that if a hearing were required, it be undertaken expeditiously. Northland applied on March 15, 1993 for Commission approval, pursuant to Section 61(4) of the Act to register on its books a transfer of shares in the capital of Northland. Northland submitted that the transfer of shares from Northwestern to PNG would have no detrimental impact on Northland or the customers of Northland. The Commission concluded that there is sufficient public interest for the Application to be heard in a public forum and set down a public hearing on May 5, 1993 in Dawson Creek. At the hearing, PNG witnesses were Messrs. Roy Dyce, Executive Vice President and General Manager; and a Director of PNG and Thomas Weaver, Comptroller. Northland witnesses were Messrs. Dennis Ellard, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Northland and Northwestern, Ed Porter, Vice President, Gas Supply at Northwestern, Reg Swanek, Manager Financial Planning at Northwestern, and Tom Fiddler, District Manager for Northland.
4 4 3.0 THE ISSUES 3.1 Rate Base The District expressed written concerns on a number of items which included PNG's acquisition price for Northland, the valuation of the Tumbler Ridge existing assets, and the effects on natural gas rates. PNG filed the District's written concerns and its response as Exhibit 5 in the hearing. On the issue of asset valuation, PNG stated that since it intends only to purchase the shares of Northland and continue its operations as a separate company, the proposed acquisition would not affect Northland's assets or Northland's obligations to its customers in the Tumbler Ridge area. In acquiring Northland, PNG agreed to pay an acquisition premium of $400,000. PNG stated that this premium will not be recorded in the rate base of Northland and will not be included as part of the management service charges that PNG might charge to Northland. On the books of PNG, it intends to record this premium as a non-utility item (T. 16-19). While PNG does not intend to recover the acquisition premium directly, PNG believes that if efficiencies occur due only to PNG owning Northland's shares then it would like the possibility of arguing that the saving should be shared between the customers and the utility (T. 16). Regarding the valuation of existing assets, the District seeks to be assured that the contributions of $1.2 million from the District and Quintette and $1.8 million from the Province should continue to favourably influence customer rates. PNG replied in Exhibit 5 that those contributions will continue to receive the same accounting and rate making treatment and continue to benefit customer rates in this area. The application of the contributions as a permanent credit to the rate base in 1988 resulted in a reduction in the Tumbler Ridge Division rate base from approximately $5.6 million in 1987 to about $2.2 million in 1992, as shown in Northland's Annual Reports to the Commission. Commission staff questioned PNG about the expected upgrades to its billing system. PNG provides customer billing for its 17,000 customers on a Wang computer that it acquired in 1984. With the purchase of Northland, there will be an additional 6,000 customers which PNG indicates will necessitate additional storage capacity, a computer memory upgrade, communication equipment between Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge and Vancouver, and at least one additional person in the billing department. At the present time, Northland uses electronic meter reading in conjunction with the Northwestern billing system but this capability is not compatible with the
5 5 PNG computer. PNG stated that all upgrades to the Wang computer will be economically evaluated and PNG does not anticipate making any other significant changes or replacements to the computer since it meets PNG's needs at the present time. However, PNG speculates that perhaps in three years it could be less costly to change to a new computer rather than continuing to run the Wang computer (T. 29-31). 3.2 Distribution Systems Northland's distribution systems built since the mid-1980's are medium and high density polyethelene pipe (T. 61, 62). Steel with yellow jacket coating was used for sizes larger than four inches and for higher pressure service. Parts of the Dawson Creek system date from the l950's and contain small quantities of older generation polyethelene pipe and coal tar coated steel pipe which were common at the time of installation. Other materials such as aluminium have not been used. Northland indicated recent experience with the materials in its system has been satisfactory and expects that situation to continue, providing present operating conditions, such as pressures, do not change. No upgrades or repairs are planned (T. 61-63). On page 3 of the filed evidence of Mr. Dyce, and under cross-examination (T. 25-28), PNG stated it had inspected both distribution systems and the Tumbler Ridge gas processing plant, and was satisfied all are in good condition and well operated. The cathodic protection had been well maintained over the years and PNG saw no requirement for extraordinary repairs to the systems. Some pipe coating material is different from that presently used in the PNG system but this is not expected to present a problem. Northland has not had a lost time accident since the early 1980's (T. 65, 66). PNG indicated it was satisfied that the facilities of both divisions are safe and meet relevant codes (T. 26). PNG will continue to utilize Northwestern's Emergency Procedures Manual and plans to review Northland's safety procedures and emergency response plans if the Applications are approved (T. 34). Northwestern has established guidelines for the frequency of leak surveys and other inspections (T. 63, 64). Northland's lost and unaccounted for gas is approximately 2 percent, compared to about 1 percent for Northwestern's system as a whole. Northland attributed the difference to the
6 6 relative size of its system, which made the loss calculation more sensitive to changes in the input information. Northland presently receives support from Northwestern's regional office in Grande Prairie and from Northwestern's head office in Edmonton. These services will in future be provided from PNG's district office in Terrace and head office in Vancouver. At the present time, PNG does not intend to relocate the local offices in Dawson Creek or Tumbler Ridge or to change the way the operation is run (T. 34). PNG anticipates there may be areas where it can combine its efforts with Centra Gas British Columbia Inc., another subsidiary of Westcoast, which serves the Fort St. John area near Dawson Creek (T. 38). The Letter Agreement between Northwestern and PNG provides that the District Agent at Tumbler Ridge and Agency Supervisor at Dawson Creek may return to Northwestern's employ after a four month transition period. Northland indicated it was not aware of any employees who did not wish to continue with Northland if the PNG application were successful (T. 59). The Commission is reassured by the evidence about the condition of the distribution systems, Northland's safety record and the continuity of staff notwithstanding the change in ownership. 3.3 Tumbler Ridge Processing Plant The Tumbler Ridge gas processing plant removes acid gas (CO 2 and H 2 S) from the raw gas obtained from Sceptre Resources Limited facilities in the area, or from the Westcoast raw gas gathering pipeline (Exhibit 7, Question 5). The marketable gas is then distributed by Northland's Tumbler Ridge system. The District raised a concern that the acid gas content of the gas being processed at the plant is increasing (T. 14, 15). PNG was aware of this concern and had contacted a number of producers who are active in the area with a view to enhancing the availability of gas with lower acid gas content. PNG has obtained information on gas supply reserves for Tumbler Ridge from Northland. PNG felt the situation regarding the acid gas content of available supply was something it can handle and has no definite plans to replace or upgrade the plant (T. 32, 33). Over the next 10 years, no major system expansion is anticipated to be needed for supply reasons (Exhibit 3, Question 14).
7 7 Although PNG operates a propane air plant and compressor stations, it does not have staff who are familiar with and able to support the maintenance and operation of a sour gas processing plant. Support, including training and back-up, is available from Westcoast which operates the major Pine River Plant at Chetwynd and other sour gas facilities. A Westcoast employee assisted with PNG's inspection of the Tumbler Ridge plant (T. 33, 34). 3.4 Gas Supply and Supply Management As set out in Northland responses to Exhibit 7, Questions 4 and 5, gas supply for Dawson Creek is provided under a Sales Agreement with Peace River Transmission Company Limited ("Peace River") dated September 4, 1956. Peace River purchases this gas from Westcoast under an agreement which continues until December 31, 1997 and thereafter unless terminated on six months notice. PNG expects these arrangements to continue in effect in the short term and will attempt to amend the agreements to provide a rolling four year gas supply as required by the Energy Supply Contract Rules pursuant to the Commission's March 11, 1993 Decision (Exhibit 3, Questions 6 to 12). Over the longer term, PNG will evaluate other gas supply resources, including direct supply arrangements that may entail entering into transportation service arrangements with Peace River and Westcoast. PNG anticipates economies of scale will result when it negotiates Northland's gas supply arrangements as part of the larger requirements of PNG. Benefits may also result from combining the temperature sensitive load profile of Northland's predominately core market customer base with that of the large industrial customer base on the PNG system to allow greater utilization of Northland's valley gas (T. 21, 22). PNG does not employ a full-time gas supply manager but Mr. Dyce and two other employees devote part of their time to gas supply matters. In addition, Canadian Hydrocarbons Marketing Inc. ("CHMI"), a subsidiary of Westcoast, acts as supply manager. PNG finds it more cost effective to bring in outside help rather than hiring a full-time employee (T. 36, 37). Gas supply for Tumbler Ridge is purchased in the form of raw gas under a Gas Sales Agreement with CanWest Gas Supply Inc. ("CanWest") dated November 1, 1991. This supply arrangement was approved by Commission Order No. E-7-93 subject to the filing by October 1, 1993 of amendments to the Gas Sales Agreement which:
8 8 • bring the length of the supply commitment under the contract into conformance with the Energy Supply Contract Rules pursuant to the Commission's March 11, 1993 Decision; and • provide Northland with priority access to production in the Grizzly area which is committed to CanWest. In response to Question 13 of Exhibit 2, and in Mr. Dyce's evidence, PNG indicated it had commenced preliminary discussions with CanWest to amend the agreement and is confident it could negotiate the required changes. As an alternative to buying raw gas and sweetening it in the Tumbler Ridge plant, Northland may, in the future, have access to marketable gas via a sweet gas line from the Pine River Plant. Westcoast is at a very preliminary stage of considering a new pipeline that would carry marketable gas to production operations in the Tumbler Ridge area. PNG is monitoring this activity and would seek to obtain access to that sweet gas (T. 15). The Commission anticipates the supply arrangements for Dawson Creek and Tumbler Ridge will become adequate upon the successful conclusion of the evaluations and negotiations that PNG will undertake. 3.5 Services Provided to Northland Northwestern provides Northland with some operations and maintenance services from the Grande Prairie regional office. Northwestern's services include procurement of pipe, meters and other items (T. 46, 47 and 61). Northwestern also provides Northland with administrative services which include auditing, financing, accounting, regulatory, gas supply and customer billing (T. 47). Mr. Ellard stated that he could not recall any service that didn't come from Northwestern. Mr. Ellard considered that if an outside service were required for Northland, it would come through Northwestern (T. 55, 56). PNG indicated it would provide Northland with engineering, procurement, construction management, inspection and meter calibration from either its Vancouver or Terrace offices (T. 34-
9 9 36). Aside from the billing function and some minor outside consulting work, this is not expected to require PNG to hire additional staff. In response to Exhibit 3, Question 3, PNG stated that: "Upon PNG's acquisition of Northland, an administrative and management services agreement will be entered into whereby PNG will provide Northland with services similar to those that were provided by Northwestern to Northland." Mr. Weaver elaborated upon this services agreement which he said would include customer billing, legal, executive and administrative services. All of the corporate support services that were not carried on by the district office or the division office would be provided by the PNG head office in Vancouver. PNG was unable to estimate the charge for these services since it did not have any experience with Northland which would aid in assessing the level of service required. PNG was willing to provide assurances that it would not charge Northland more for equivalent service than was charged by Northwestern (T. 19, 20). PNG has indicated that it may require outside assistance in servicing Northland. PNG does not have experience in operating a sour gas plant and may request assistance from the Westcoast sour gas plant at Chetwynd, which is located approximately 100 miles away. Mr. Dyce stated that Westcoast could provide assistance as needed, or could be requested to provide training and backup. He indicated that PNG may have to enter into a service agreement with Westcoast (T. 33, 34). Another area where PNG obtains outside assistance is gas supply management through its affiliated company CHMI. 3.6 Financing In its Application, PNG made the following statement regarding its financing capability: "Pacific Northern has adequate funds available through its existing lines of credit to complete the proposed purchase of the shares of Northland, and has the capacity to raise the necessary debt and equity financing required to meet the future capital requirements for the distribution systems in the Dawson Creek area and Tumbler Ridge, and to maintain the required levels of service to the present and anticipated future customers of those distribution systems."
10 10 In its Application, PNG stated that it intends to refinance Northland's debt: "Pacific Northern will, at the time of purchase of the Northland shares, repay the existing long-term debt owed by Northland to Northwestern, and will in the near term refinance that debt with lower cost, short-term debt available through Pacific Northern's existing bank lines of credit. The refinancing of Northland's debt will enable Northland to avoid applying for approval of a rate increase which would otherwise have been required in 1993;" All of Northland's debt is long-term and is held by its parent, Northwestern, under terms that allow repayment in whole or in part within 30 days notice. The 1992 Annual Report for Northland shows that the mid-year long-term debt component represents approximately 60 percent of the capital structure in both Divisions which totals about $3.1 million at an average cost of 12.79 percent per annum. As quoted above, PNG intends to repay Northland's long-term debt, and refinance with short-term debt with an expected cost of 6.75 percent per annum (Exhibit 2, p. 17). PNG has plans to issue long-term debt in the fourth quarter of 1993 as a replacement for Northland's short-term debt and other PNG financings. While PNG's existing long-term debt requires a two times interest coverage before additional long-term debt is issued, PNG expects that adding Northland's refinancing requirements will not affect PNG's ability to issue new long-term debt (Exhibit 2, p. 18). Even though the issuance of long-term debt for Northland is expected, Mr. Weaver acknowledged that there could be circumstances where the issuance could not take place in the fall of 1993. Mr. Dyce speculated that if the refinancing did not occur and other costs did not rise then the shareholders could possibly receive the benefit from the continued use of short-term debt (T. 23, 24).
11 11 4.0 COMMISSION CONCLUSIONS The Commission considered that over the longer term, customer service is unlikely to be detrimentally affected by PNG's acquisition of the outstanding shares of Northland owned by Northwestern. The transition to use of PNG for support of maintenance and operations activities, gas supply management and billing systems has the potential for negative impacts to Northland and PNG's customers. These impacts should be somewhat offset since the purchase of the shares allows PNG the capability to refinance Northland's long-term debt at the present lower interest rates. This will avoid a rate increase application for 1993 and may offset other cost increases in future years. Over the longer term, closer integration with gas supply management activities on the Westcoast system should enhance the reliability of service. Special attention to operations support will be required so that the distance from PNG's Terrace district office will not impede access to materials and staff. PNG's intention to maintain Northland's organization and staff and to continue Northland's mains extension policy will also provide stability to the utility. PNG should be able to provide administrative support in regulatory, environmental, legal and gas supply matters more economically. Material procurement, operations and maintenance backup and support for sour gas operations are areas with the potential to cause higher costs than when Northwestern provided these services. In reviewing the Applications by PNG and Northland, Section 61(8) of the Act directs the Commission to consider the effect of the requested approval on the public utility and the users of its services and permits approval only if the utility and its users will not be detrimentally affected. The Commission interprets Section 61 of the Act as requiring that the proposed acquisition not adversely affect PNG's and Northland's ("the Utilities'") ability to provide ongoing service of the quality that their customers have the right to expect and at rates which are fair to those customers and to the Utilities. In its review, the Commission focused on the concerns that relate to the potential for detrimental effects on the Utilities and their customers by following the instructions given in the Act and the guidelines set out in the 1985 Decision with respect to an Application by Fort Nelson Gas Ltd. and Colony Pacific Exploration Ltd.
12 12 The guidelines include: (a) The utility's ability to finance future requirements; (b) Continuation of existing covenants that would preserve the customers' interests; (c) The Utilities' ability to maintain the required level of service into the future; (d) Compliance of the Application with pertinent legislation and regulation; and (e) Preservation of the public interest. The Commission has based its Decision on its conclusions drawn from the evidence filed and examined at the hearing on each of the issues listed and with reference to the Act and the guidelines in order to determine whether or not, in the Commission's judgment, there is potential for detrimental effects to PNG, Northland, their customers and in the broader sense, to the public interest. (a) PNG's ability to finance future requirements As discussed in Section 3.6, PNG stated that it has adequate funds to purchase the shares of Northland and has the capacity to raise the necessary debt and equity to finance future capital requirements of Northland. PNG also expects that the addition of Northland's financing requirements will not affect PNG's ability to issue new long-term debt. As a result, the acquisition premium of $400,000 does not appear to place any restriction on PNG's ability to obtain short or long-term financing. On the basis of the foregoing, the Commission concludes there is no basis for assuming that PNG's proposed ownership of Northland would jeopardize the ongoing financial integrity of either company and that there is no significant probability of detrimental effects. (b) Continuation of existing covenants that would preserve the customers' interest As discussed in Section 2.0, PNG is applying to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Northland which will result in Northland continuing to operate after the purchase is completed. Northland provided a list of its outstanding contracts, agreements, covenants and franchises and confirmed that all of the rights and obligations of Northland will continue to be observed after the shares are transferred from Northwestern to PNG (Exhibit 7, Question 1). In Exhibit 7,
13 13 Northland stated that the franchise agreement for the City of Dawson Creek expired on December 31, 1992 and discussions to renew the agreement have commenced. The Commission notes that in his written evidence, Mr. Dyce indicated that Northland will operate as a separate company and that amalgamation with PNG will be considered over the next several months (Exhibit 4, p. 4). Since an amalgamation would require another application, it is not an issue at this hearing and accordingly will not be addressed. The Commission considers that the purchase of Northland's shares will not detrimentally affect the continuation of existing covenants. (c) The Utilities' ability to maintain the required level of service into the future In argument Mr. Sheard submitted that: "... based on everything that has been filed and testimony given, as well as your previous knowledge of PNG, there is no doubt that in PNG there is a highly qualified, competent and experienced management group." (T. 70) and that there will not be a negative service impact. The Commission has looked at the entire transaction and recognized the importance that must be given to maintaining a quality of service that meets the needs of PNG's and Northland's existing and future customers and concludes that there are no detrimental effects to either the Utilities or their customers attributable to the quality of service issues. d) Compliance of the Applications with pertinent legislation and regulation On the basis of all the evidence filed and heard with respect to the foregoing issues and the tests applied as outlined in the argument of Counsel on behalf of Northland, the Commission concludes that the Application complies with pertinent legislation and regulation. (e) Preservation of the public interest The Commission considers there is a significant public interest inherent in safeguarding both Northland and the existing system of PNG, and the users of the services from any aspects of the
14 14 sale which could impose a significant increase in rates on these users. The Commission also considers that the experience it has had with PNG as a regulated utility, the assurance given by PNG and the directions being given are sufficient to ensure that the Utilities and the users of the services of the Utilities will not be adversely affected by the proposed change in ownership. In the Commission's judgment, the following directions will provide a means to observe that this continues in the future. The Commission therefore directs that after the closing of the share purchase agreement, the Utilities: 1. file with the Commission records of contracted services provided by PNG to ensure that costs of services are in line with prices previously paid for such services when obtained from Northwestern. 2. report to the Commission in advance of purchases being made for proposed major computer upgrades. 3. set up a deferral account if Northland's debt is not refinanced, by December 31, 1993 to record the difference between the actual cost of debt and Northland's existing cost of long-term debt at 12.79 percent. 4. file a financial forecast for Northland for 1994 if a 1994 rate application is not submitted by December 1, 1993. 5. keep and file with the Commission records of outside services provided to Northland by Westcoast and outside contractors. 6. when negotiations are completed, file the Dawson Creek Gas Supply Agreement with the Commission. The Commission further directs that the costs of these proceedings are to be shared equally by PNG and Northland.
15 15 5.0 THE DECISION In the Commission's judgment the conclusions reached with respect to the issues addressed in this Decision collectively indicate that there will be no significant detriment to the Utilities and their customers, or to the public interest attributable to the proposed purchase of the shares of Northland by PNG. The Commission further judges that the proposed acquisition by PNG satisfies the guidelines previously used by the Commission. 5.1 Acquisition by PNG The Application by PNG, for an Order pursuant to Section 61(6) of the Act, approving the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding shares of Northland owned by Northwestern, is approved. 5.2 Registration of Transfer The Application by Northland, for an Order pursuant to Section 61(4) of the Act, approving the registration on its books of a transfer of shares in the capital Northland is approved. 5.3 Directions to PNG/Northland The Commission considers it desirable in the public interest to direct the Utilities to follow the directions given in this Decision in order to avert potential detrimental effects to their customers in the future. DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia this day of May, 1993. _________________________________________ H.J. Page, P.Eng., Commissioner and Chair of the Panel _________________________________________ K.D. Wellman, Q.C. Commissioner
16 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page _No. APPEARANCES (i) LIST OF EXHIBITS (ii) 1.0 BACKGROUND 1 1.1 Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. 1 1.2 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited 1 1.2.1 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited - Dawson Creek Division 1 1.2.2 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited - Tumbler Ridge Division 2 2.0 THE APPLICATIONS AND HEARING 3 3.0 THE ISSUES 3 3.1 Rate Base 3 3.2 Distribution Systems 4 3.3 Tumbler Ridge Processing Plant 5 3.4 Gas Supply and Supply Management 6 3.5 Services Provided to Northland 7 3.6 Financing 8 4.0 COMMISSION CONCLUSIONS 10 5.0 THE DECISION 14 5.1 Acquisition by PNG 14 5.2 Registration of Transfer 14 5.3 Directions to PNG/Northland 14 6.0 COMMISSION ORDER NO. G-34-93 APPENDIX A Section 61 of the Utilities Commission Act of British Columbia
17 APPEARANCES T. KAMPMAN Commission Counsel R. SIRETT Counsel for Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. C. SHEARD Counsel for Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited MAYOR G. HARTFORD District of Tumbler Ridge M. COUGHLIN
18 LIST OF EXHIBITS Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. Application to Acquire Shares of Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited dated March 12, 1993 Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.'s Response to BCUC Staff Information Request No. 1 Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.'s Response to BCUC Staff Information Request No. 2 Direct Testimony of Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.'s Witnesses Letter from the District of Tumbler Ridge dated April 28, 1993 to the BCUC and Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.'s Written Response dated May 3, 1993 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited's Application to Transfer its Shares to Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. dated March 15, 1993 Northland Utilities (B.C.) Limited's Response to BCUC Staff Information Request No. 1 BCUC Hearing Order No. G-23-93 dated March 24, 1993 Affidavit of Publication of Notice of Hearing Exhibit _No._ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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