IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
Creative Energy Vancouver Platforms Inc.
2015-2017 Revenue Requirements Application
BEFORE: L. A. O’Hara, Commissioner/Panel Chair
I. F. MacPhail, Commissioner March 2, 2015
O R D E R
WHEREAS:
A. On November 28, 2014, Creative Energy Vancouver Platforms Inc. (Creative Energy) filed its 2015-2017 Revenue Requirements Application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission), which seeks, among other things, approval to increase its rates by 13.5 percent in 2015, 1.0 percent in 2016 and 1.6 percent in 2017 (Application);
B. Creative Energy proposes that the Application be reviewed through a negotiated settlement process;
C. By Order G-198-14, the Commission approved an interim rate increase of 7.9 percent, effective January 1, 2015 for the reasons attached to that order and established a preliminary regulatory timetable that included one round of information requests; and
D. The Commission has reviewed the information request responses and finds that it is in the public interest to review the Application through a written hearing process.
NOW THEREFORE the Commission orders as follows:
1. The Application will be reviewed through a written hearing process in accordance with the regulatory timetable as set out in Appendix A to this order.
2. Any parties who have concerns with this process and/or the established timetable should provide their submissions along with reasoning to the Commission by no later than Thursday, March 5, 2015.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 2nd day of March, 2015.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
L. A. O’Hara
Commissioner
Attachments
Creative Energy Vancouver Platforms Inc.
2015-2017 Revenue Requirements Application
REGULATORY TIMETABLE
|
ACTION |
DATE (2015) |
|
Commission and intervener Information Request No. 2 |
Thursday, March 12 |
|
Creative Energy responses to Commission and intervener Information Request No. 2 |
Thursday, March 26 |
|
Creative Energy Final Submission |
Thursday, April 2 |
|
Intervener Final Submission |
Thursday, April 9 |
|
Creative Energy Reply Submission |
Thursday, April 16 |
Creative Energy Vancouver Platforms Inc.
2015-2017 Revenue Requirements Application
Reasons for Decision
On November 28, 2014, Creative Energy Vancouver Platforms Inc. (Creative Energy) filed its 2015-2017 Revenue Requirements Application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) and proposed a negotiated settlement process for review of the Application.
By Order G-198-15, the Commission established a preliminary regulatory timetable, which included one round of information requests, and indicated that it would seek submissions on further regulatory process after Creative Energy files its responses to information requests.
The Panel has reviewed the Application and responses to the information requests (IRs) filed by Creative Energy on February 19, 2015, and finds that it is in the public interest to conduct a review of the Application through a written review process. The Panel finds that a number of corrections and adjustments within the IR responses warrant further investigation through a second round of IRs. The Panel also finds the nature of the adjustments and the breadth of the topics contained within the Application to be cumbersome if the review is conducted through a negotiated settlement process. Of further concern to the Panel is whether the scope of interests represented by intervener groups sufficiently represents issues faced by specific customers of Creative Energy. For these reasons, Creative Energy’s proposal for a negotiated settlement process is denied.
The Panel determines that the Application will be reviewed through a written hearing process in accordance with the regulatory timetable as set out in Appendix A.
Any parties who have concerns with this process and/or the established timetable should provide their submissions along with reasoning to the Commission no later than Thursday, March 5, 2015.