IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, Chapter 473
and
An Application by Rio Tinto Alcan for
Acceptance of a Revised Mitigation Plan required for
Compliance with Mandatory Reliability Standard
PRC-005-1 Requirement 2 - Violation ID: BCUC201000076
BEFORE: D.M. Morton, Commissioner April 24, 2013
O R D E R
WHEREAS:
A. Section 125.2 of the Utilities Commission Act (Act) assigns exclusive jurisdiction to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) to determine whether a “reliability standard,” as defined in the Act, is in the public interest and should be adopted in British Columbia. By Order G-123-09, the Commission approved the Compliance Monitoring Program (CMP) for monitoring and enforcement of adopted reliability standards and appointed the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) as its Administrator for registration and monitoring compliance as per section 8 of the Act;
B. Commission Order G-67-09 requires entities subject to approved Mandatory Reliability Standards to file mitigation plans outlining how they plan to achieve compliance;
C. Pursuant to section 5.3 of the CMP, a Mitigation Plan with respect to an Alleged Violation may be submitted at any time, and a Mitigation Plan with respect to a Confirmed Violation must be submitted within ten business days following confirmation by the Commission;
D. By Order G-52-11, the Commission approved a Mitigation Plan with completion date March 31, 2011, submitted by Rio Tinto Alcan (RTA) to address the alleged violation of Reliability Standard PRC-005-1 R2. By Order G-85-11, the Commission approved a Revised Mitigation Plan with completion date June 30, 2011, submitted by RTA to address the same alleged violation. By Order R-74-12, the Commission approved a further Revised Mitigation Plan with completion date September 30, 2011, submitted by RTA to address the same alleged violation. The previously approved Mitigation Plans are shown below:
|
Alleged Violation |
Violation ID |
Method of Discovery |
Original MP Approval with Completion Date |
Revised MP Approval with Completion Date |
Revised MP Approval with Completion Date |
|
PRC-005-1 R2 |
BCUC201000076 |
Self-Report |
G-52-11 March 31, 2011 |
G-85-11 June 30, 2011 |
R-74-12 June 30, 2011 |
E. On August 31, 2012, RTA submitted an Attestation of Mitigation Plan Completion. Upon review of the evidence, WECC informed RTA there were deficiencies in the in the evidence, including missing maintenance and testing dates;
F. On January 8, 2013, WECC requested RTA submit a Revised Mitigation Plan for the alleged violation of Reliability Standard PRC-005-1 R2;
G. On February 13, 2013, RTA submitted a Revised Mitigation Plan to address the alleged violation of Reliability Standard PRC-005-1 R2. RTA requested the new completion date be October 25, 2013;
H. By letter dated April 12, 2013, WECC recommended acceptance of the following Revised Mitigation Plan to bring RTA into compliance with the standard listed below:
|
Alleged Violation |
BCUC Violation ID |
Date Revised MP submitted to WECC |
Proposed Completion Date |
|
PRC-005-1 R2 |
BCUC201000076 |
February 13, 2013 |
October 25, 2013 |
I. In response to Commission staff inquiries, WECC stated that based on discussions with RTA, WECC is confident RTA understands WECC’s expectations regarding implementation of the MP. WECC is also confident RTA understands what supporting evidence it needs to provide at completion for WECC to recommend acceptance of an Attestation of Mitigation Plan Completion;
J. The Commission has reviewed WECC’s recommendation and considers approval is warranted.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 125.2(10) of the Utilities Commission Act and in accordance with the Compliance Monitoring Program, the British Columbia Utilities Commission accepts Western Electricity Coordinating Council’s recommendation and approves the Revised Mitigation Plan with Completion Date as listed in Recital H above.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 23rd day of April 2013.
BY ORDER
Original Signed By:
D.M. Morton
Commissioner