Orders

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, Chapter 473

and

An Application by British Columbia Transmission Corporation

for Approval of a

F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan Update

BEFORE:               D. A. Cote, Commissioner

   and Panel Chair                                                              January 14, 2010

L. A. O’Hara, Commissioner

O  R  D  E  R

WHEREAS:

A.      On November 21, 2008, pursuant to sections 44.2 and 45(6) of the Utilities Commission Act (the “Act”), the British Columbia Transmission Corporation (“BCTC”) filed its F2010 and F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan application for approval of the F2010 and F2011 period of Growth Capital Projects, Sustaining Capital Expenditures, BCTC Capital Expenditures totalling almost $325 million and Emergency Capital Expenditures for F2008 and F2009 totalling almost $3.5 million; and

B.      On July 13, 2009, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (the “Commission”) issued its Decision and Order G-87-09 accepting most of the planned capital expenditures as per Appendices A, B and C of its Decision except the Market Operation and Development (“MOD”) that the Commission directed BCTC to file as a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (“CPCN”).  Furthermore, because of First Nations consultation issues, the Commission directed BCTC to resubmit its application for approval of certain rejected expenditures; and

C.      On August 4, 2009, BCTC filed an application for a CPCN for the MOD project estimated at a cost of $10.1 million; and

D.      On November 20, 2009, pursuant to Order G-87-09, BCTC filed a re-application for Approval of Capital Expenditures, requesting the Commission accept capital expenditures for some of the Growth Capital projects and the Sustaining Capital programs rejected by Order G-87-09 because of First Nations consultation issues; and

E.       On December 16, 2009, by Order C-6-09A, the Commission granted BCTC a CPCN for the MOD project; and

F.    On January 8, 2010, BCTC applied to the Commission for an Order under section 44.2 of the Act accepting the expenditure schedules identified in the F2011 Capital Plan Update (“Application”) as meeting the requirements of section 45(6) of the Act.  These new expenditure schedules include $27.4 million for Growth Capital, $5 million for Sustaining Capital and $3.1 million for BCTC Capital; and

G.   The Commission has considered the proposed Regulatory Timetable and has concluded that a written public hearing process providing for two rounds of Information Requests is appropriate for the review of the Application.

NOW THEREFORE the Commission orders as follows:

1.    A written public hearing process is established for the review of the Application, according to the Regulatory Timetable that is attached as Appendix A to this Order.

2.    BCTC will publish the Notice of Application and Written Public Hearing, attached as Appendix B, in the Vancouver Sun and Province, the Victoria Times Colonist and such local papers so as to provide sufficient coverage of its service area, as soon as it is possible to do so.

3.    BCTC will provide a copy of this Order to all Intervenors who registered for the Transmission System Capital Plan F2010 to F2011 proceeding in 2008-2009.

4.    Persons wishing to be Intervenors or Interested Parties in the proceeding should register, in writing, with the Commission by Thursday, January 28, 2010.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this           14^th                day of January 2010.

                                                                                                                                BY ORDER

                                                                                                Original signed by:

                                                                                                                                D. A. Cote

                                                                                                                                Commissioner and Panel Chair

Attachments

An Application by the British Columbia Transmission Corporation

for Approval of a

F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan Update

REGULATORY AGENDA AND TIMETABLE

An Application by the British Columbia Transmission Corporation

for Approval of its F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan Update

NOTICE OF APPLICATION

AND

WRITTEN PUBLIC HEARING

THE APPLICATION

On November 21, 2008 British Columbia Transmission Corporation (“BCTC”) filed its F2010 and F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan.  On July 13, 2009 the British Columbia Utilities Commission (“Commission”) issued Order G‐87‐09 accepting most of the planned capital expenditures.

Since filing its F2010 and F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan, BCTC has continued to plan its system and to review and understand the required capital activity and expenditures to meet expected customer demand and system reliability.  As a result of this ongoing planning, some adjustments to its F2010 and F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan are required.  Therefore, BCTC is providing this F2011 Capital Plan Update filing to inform the Commission and Intervenors about these further requirements.

In this filing, BCTC seeks acceptance of the expenditure schedules included in this F2011 Capital Plan Update Filing, which are in addition to those expenditures already approved by Order G‐87‐09.  These new expenditure schedules contain $27.4 million for Growth Capital, $5 million for Sustaining Capital and $3.1 million for BCTC Capital.

THE REGULATORY PROCESS

Commission Order G-9-10 established the Regulatory Timetable for the review of the BCTC F2011 Transmission System Capital Plan Update by way of a Written Public Hearing.

The detailed Regulatory Timetable can be reviewed on the Commission’s website http://www.bcuc.com >Proceedings&Agendas>Current Applications.

INTERVENTIONS

Persons who expect to actively participate in the BCTC proceeding should register as Intervenors with the Commission, in writing, by Thursday, January 28, 2010 identifying their interest in the Application.  Intervenors will receive copies of the Application as well as all correspondence and filed documentation and should provide an email address if available.

Persons not expecting to actively participate in the BCTC proceeding, but who have an interest in the matter, should register as Interested Parties with the Commission, in writing, by Thursday, January 28, identifying their interest in the matter.  Interested Parties will receive a copy of the Commission Decision when it is rendered.

All submissions and/or correspondence received from active participants or the general public relating to the Application will be placed on the public record and posted to the Commission’s web site.

PUBLIC INSPECTION OF THE DOCUMENTS

The Application and supporting materials will be available for inspection at the following locations:

For further information, please contact the Commission Secretary, as follows: