Orders

IN THE MATTER OF

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

and

FortisBC Energy Inc.

Application for Approval of 2015-2016 Revenue Requirements and Rates

for the Fort Nelson Service Area

BEFORE:               D. A. Cote, Commissioner                                           

                                H. G. Harowitz, Commissioner                                    March 3, 2015

                                I. F. MacPhail, Commissioner

O  R  D  E  R

WHEREAS:

A.      On December 3, 2014, FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) submitted its 2015-2016 revenue requirements and rates application for the Fort Nelson service area with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission), pursuant to sections 58 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act (Act), seeking, among other things, Commission approval to increase delivery rates (Application);

B.      On December 10, 2014, by Order G-192-14, the Commission established a regulatory timetable for review of the Application. The Regulatory Timetable provided for one round of information requests (IRs) followed by intervener comments on further regulatory process;

C.      Four parties registered as interveners: Fort Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce (FNDCOC); British Columbia Old Age Pensioners’ Organization et al. (BCOAPO); Commercial Energy Consumers Association of British Columbia (CEC); and Dr. Anthony Kenyon;

D.      On February 10, 2015, FNDCOC, BCOAPO and CEC filed submissions on further process followed by a reply submission filed by FEI on February 16, 2015. Upon review of the IR No. 1 responses and parties’ submissions on further process, the Commission issued a revised Regulatory Timetable on February 17, 2015, which included a second round of IRs as well as dates for parties’ written final and reply submissions;

E.       Pursuant to the revised Regulatory Timetable, the Commission and CEC filed IR No. 2 on February 25, 2015;

F.       By letter dated February 26, 2015, FEI requested an extension to the March 4, 2015 filing date for the responses to IR No. 2, citing the following reasons for the extension: (i) the number of IRs received given the Commission’s direction regarding the brevity of the second round of IRs and CEC’s submission that no further process was necessary; and (ii) significant resource restraints due to the same personnel working on many other ongoing regulatory review processes at the same time;

G.     The Commission has considered FEI’s proposed regulatory timetable and the reasons stated by FEI for requiring the filing extension and determines that amending the Regulatory Timetable as proposed by FEI is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE the Commission directs that the Regulatory Timetable be amended as attached in Appendix A to this order.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this             3^rd                 day of March 2015.

                                                                                                                                BY ORDER

Original signed by:

D. A. Cote

Commissioner

Attachment

FortisBC Energy Inc.

Application for Approval of 2015-2016 Revenue Requirements and Rates

for the Fort Nelson Service Area

REGULATORY TIMETABLE