B R IT IS H C O L U M B I A U T I L I T IE S C O M M I S S I ON O R D ER N U M B ER G-131-97 SIXTH FLOOR, 900 HOWE STREET, BOX 250 a TELEPHONE: (604) 660-4700 VANCOUVER, B.C. V6Z 2N3 BC TOLL FREE: 1-800-663-1385 CANADA FACSIMILE: (604) 660-1102 IN THE MATTER OF the Utilities Commission Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, Chapter 473 and A Complaint by Customers into Rates charged by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority BEFORE: L.R. Barr, Deputy Chair ) and Acting Chair ) K.L. Hall, Commissioner ) December 11, 1997 P.G. Bradley, Commissioner ) O R D E R WHEREAS: A. On NovemberÊ18, 1997, Bull Housser and Tupper, on behalf of the Council of Forest Industries, the Mining Association of British Columbia and the Electro-Chemical ProducersÊ("the Industrial Customers"), complained, pursuant to SectionÊ58 of the Utilities Commission ActÊ("the Act"), that the rates charged by British Columbia Hydro and Power AuthorityÊ("B.C.ÊHydro") were not just and reasonable and were in contravention of the Act and Regulations. The Industrial Customers requested that the Commission immediately make all B.C.ÊHydro rates interim, reduce B.C.ÊHydro's rates by 7.5Êpercent pending the outcome of a hearing, and require B.C.ÊHydro to expeditiously file a full revenue requirements application for its fiscal year 1997/98; and B. On NovemberÊ20, 1997, the British Columbia Public Interest Advocacy CentreÊ("BCPIAC") filed a similar complaint on B.C.ÊHydro rates and requested a hearing under SectionÊ58 of the Act to determine to what extent B.C.ÊHydro rates should be reduced; and C. The Commission directed B.C. Hydro to provide a full response to the complaints on, or before, Tuesday, December 2, 1997, with detailed pro-forma revenue requirement forecasts in a format consistent with previous revenue requirement filings; and . . ./2
2 D. The B.C. Hydro response argued that the Complainants have not made out a case for their requests, and were based on retrospective data in B.C. Hydro's Annual Report. However, the information made available by B.C. Hydro, while insufficient to specify the amount of change in the level of its rates, did provide projections to show that B.C. Hydro's actual Return on Equity may be higher than that approved by the Commission; and E. The Commission has reviewed the complaints and information filed on the matter and has determined that a review into B.C. Hydro's rates is required. NOW THEREFORE the Commission orders as follows: 1. Pursuant to Section 91 of the Act, the special circumstances of this case require the rates charged by B.C.ÊHydro to be declared as interim, effective the date of this Order. 2. B.C.ÊHydro is to file with the Commission a detailed review of its revenue requirements for the 1997/98 and 1998/99 fiscal periods, as soon as possible, but no later than JanuaryÊ30, 1998. DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this ÊÊÊÊ11thÊÊÊÊday of December, 1997. Order/BCH-Rate ChargesB R IT I S H C O L U M B I A U T IL I T I E S C O M M I S S I O N O R D E R N U M B ER G-131-97 BY ORDER Original signed by: Lorna R. Barr Deputy Chair and Acting Chair
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