Orders

IN THE MATTER OF

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

and

An Application by FortisBC Alternative Energy Services Inc.

for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Kelowna District Energy System and

the Approval of the Rate Design and Rates to Provide Thermal Energy Services to Customers

in the Kelowna City Centre

BEFORE:               D.M. Morton, Panel Chair/Commissioner

                                B.A. Magnan, Commissioner                                       December 24, 2012

                                R.D. Revel, Commissioner

O R D E R

WHEREAS:

A.      On November 2, 2012, FortisBC Alternative Energy Services Inc. (FAES) applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act (Act) to construct and operate the Kelowna District Energy System (KDES), which will provide Thermal Energy Services (TES) for heating buildings in the Kelowna City Centre, and for approval, under sections 59, 60 and 61 of the Act, of the proposed rate design and rates to recover the cost of service from customers (the Application);

B.      On November 9, 2012, the Commission issued Order G-170-12 establishing a Written Hearing Process and a Regulatory Timetable for the review of the Application;

C.      On November 21, 2012, the Commission issued Order G-175-12 approving FAES’ proposed amendments to the regulatory timetable for the FAES TELUS Garden TES CPCN (TELUS Garden) proceeding;

D.      On November 21, 2012, the Commission issued Order G-176-12 to amend the Application’s Regulatory Timetable for procedural and regulatory efficiency to be realized between this Application and the TELUS Garden proceeding;

E.       On November 28, 2012, the British Columbia Pensioners’ and Seniors’ Organization et al. (BCPSO) and the B.C. Sustainable Energy Association and the Sierra Club of B.C. (BCSEA) registered as Interveners;

F.       On December 7, 2012 and on December 14, 2012, the Commission and Registered Interveners submitted their respective Information Requests (IR) No. 1 to FAES.  According to the Amended Regulatory Timetable attached to Order G-176-12, FAES’ responses to the Commission’s and Registered Interveners’ IR No. 1 are due on Thursday, January 3, 2012;

G.     On December 21, 2012, FAES sent a letter to the Commission explaining that, in addition to this proceeding, FAES and its affiliate FortisBC Energy Inc. are involved in several other applications pending before the Commission, including the Generic Cost of Capital (Oral Public Hearing), the TELUS Garden proceeding, the Application for Approval of Rate Treatment of Expenditures under the Greenhouse Gas Reductions (Clean Energy) Regulation, and the Biomethane Post Implementation Report.  Given the resulting resource constraints, and also the holiday season, FAES requests that the Commission further amend the Amended Regulatory Timetable and proposes amendments to it; and

H.      In its letter, FAES indicates that it has discussed this request with the two Registered Interveners, BCPSO and BCSEA, and that both expressed no objection to the proposed amendments to the Amended Regulatory Timetable.

NOW THEREFORE the Commission approves the amendments to the Amended Regulatory Timetable proposed by FAES.  The further Amended Regulatory Timetable is attached as Appendix A to this Order.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this           24th           day of December 2012.

                                                                                                                                BY ORDER

                                                                                                                                Original Signed by:

                                                                                                                                D.M. Morton

                                                                                                                                Panel Chair/Commissioner

Attachment

FortisBC Alternative Energy Services Inc.

An Application by FortisBC Alternative Energy Services Inc.

for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Kelowna District Energy System and

the Approval of the Rate Design and Rates to Provide Thermal Energy Services to Customers

in the Kelowna City Centre

AMENDED REGULATORY TIMETABLE