Orders

IN THE MATTER OF

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

and

An Application by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

FERC Order No. 764 Open Access Transmission Tariff Amendments

BEFORE:                 L.F. Kelsey, Commissioner

                                C.A. Brown, Commissioner                                                 September 12, 2013

                                N.E. MacMurchy, Commissioner

                                B.A. Magnan, Commissioner

                                D.M. Morton, Commissioner

                                C. van Wermeskerken, Commissioner

O R D E R

WHEREAS:

A.       On April 23, 1998, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) issued Order G-43-98 approving an application for a Wholesale Transmission Services (WTS) tariff, submitted by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) to be comparable to the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) pro forma Open Access Transmission Tariff (pro forma OATT) as established under FERC Order Nos. 888, 888-A, 888-B and 888-C.  Among other things, the WTS included provisions for Firm Point-To-Point Transmission Service, Non-Firm Point-To-Point Transmission Service and Energy Imbalance Service;

B.       On June 19, 2005, the Commission issued Order G-58-05 approving an application by the British Columbia Transmission Corporation (BCTC) to replace the WTS tariff with an open access transmission tariff (OATT) which contained all of the basic elements of the WTS tariff with some additional refinements required to ensure compatibility with the pro forma OATT.  Among other things, the OATT contained standard generator interconnection procedures including a standard generator interconnection agreement;

C.       On December 9, 2010, the Commission issued Order G-192-10 approving amendments to the OATT, submitted by BC Hydro pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the UCA, to reflect the integration of BC Hydro and BCTC pursuant to the Clean Energy Act;

D.       On June 22, 2012, FERC issued Order No. 764 which reformed pro forma OATT with the intent of removing barriers to the integration of variable energy resources (VERs).  Entities under FERC jurisdiction are required to comply with the Order No. 764 reforms by November 12, 2013;

E.        On July 19, 2013, BC Hydro posted a bulletin on its transmission website notifying its OATT customers of proposed amendments to the OATT to maintain comparability to the pro forma OATT and requested that any comments on the proposed amendments be submitted by August 16, 2013.  A notification of the bulletin was sent to those parties who subscribed for BC Hydro's transmission bulletins.  No comments were received;

F.        On September 6, 2013, BC Hydro, pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the UCA, submitted to the Commission an application reflecting proposed amendments to the OATT (Application) to maintain comparability to the pro forma OATT as reformed under FERC Order Nos. 764 and 764-A including:

• Amendments to section 13.8 – Scheduling of Firm Point-To-Point Transmission Service and section 14.6 - Scheduling of Non-Firm Point-To-Point Transmission Service.  The reforms are intended to remove barriers to the integration of VERs by offering intra-hour scheduling and allowing the adjustment of transmission schedules within the hour; and
• Amendments to Attachment M‑1 Appendix 5 – Standard Generator Interconnection Agreement to define ‘Variable Energy Resource’ and to require interconnection customers whose generating facilities are VERs to provide meteorological and forced outage data to BC Hydro to the extent such information is required for power production forecasting.

G.       The Commission has considered BC Hydro’s submission and concludes that a minimal written regulatory process is appropriate for reviewing the Application.

NOW THEREFORE the Commission orders as follows:

1.     The establishment of a written comment process to review British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority’s proposed amendments to the existing OATT sections 13.8, 14.6 and Attachment M1 – Appendix 5 (Variable Energy Resources).  The Regulatory Timetable is attached as Appendix A to this Order.  The Regulatory Timetable includes Commission Information Request, BC Hydro Response, and an opportunity for Stakeholders to provide comments to the Commission Secretary on the Application.

2.     BC Hydro must post a bulletin on its transmission website notifying customers of this Order establishing a written comment process.

3.     BC Hydro must provide a copy of this Order and responses to Commission Information Request, if any, to all its OATT customers and those stakeholders who received a copy of this Application by Wednesday, October 2, 2013.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this                  12th                      day of September, 2013.

BY ORDER

                                                                                                                                                Original Signed By:

D.M. Morton

Commissioner

Attachment

An Application by British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

FERC Order No. 764 Open Access Transmission Tariff Amendments

REGULATORY TIMETABLE