Orders

IN THE MATTER OF

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

and

FortisBC Energy Inc.

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Application

for the Lower Mainland Intermediate Pressure System Upgrade Project

BEFORE:               D. A. Cote, Panel Chair/Commissioner

                                N. E. MacMurchy, Commissioner                              January 5, 2015

                                K. A. Keilty, Commissioner

                                H. G. Harowitz, Commissioner

                                I. F. MacPhail, Commissioner

O  R  D  E  R

WHEREAS:

A.      On December 19, 2014, FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) submitted an Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) under sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) to construct and operate two replacement pipeline segments in the Lower Mainland near Vancouver, BC (Application). FEI also seeks approval under sections 59-61 of the UCA for deferral treatment of costs for preparing the Application and separately for deferral treatment of project development costs;

B.      FEI proposes to replace approximately 20 kilometers of an existing 20 inch pipeline between Coquitlam Gate Station and East 2^nd & Woodland Station in Vancouver with a new 30 inch pipeline to address corrosion concerns with the existing pipeline and provide additional capacity for system operational and resiliency benefits. The second replacement segment is a 0.5 kilometer section of 30 inch pipeline between Fraser Gate Station and East Kent Avenue & Elliott Street in Vancouver to upgrade this segment to meet FEI’s seismic criteria for critical facilities (Project);

C.      The proposed Project has an estimated capital cost of $264 million, consisting of $246 million for the Coquitlam Gate segment and $18 million for the Fraser Gate segment; and

D.      The Commission has determined that a public hearing is appropriate to review the Application and that a procedural conference is necessary to determine the scope of and whether an oral hearing is required.

NOW THEREFORE the British Columbia Utilities Commission orders as follows:

1.       The Application will be examined through a public hearing process and the preliminary Regulatory Timetable, attached as Appendix A, has been established.

2.       FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) must publish a notice of the Application and public hearing process, attached as Appendix B to this Order, in local and community newspapers to provide reasonable notice to people in the affected service area and surrounding communities by the week of Monday, January 12, 2015. FEI must make the Application available on its company website.

3.       Persons wishing to participate as interveners or as interested parties, as described in Appendix B, should register with the Commission in writing or electronic submission by Monday, January 26, 2015. Interveners should specifically state the nature of their interest in the Application and identify generally the nature of the issues that they may intend to pursue during the proceeding and the nature and extent of their anticipated involvement in the review process.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, In the Province of British Columbia, this         5^th             day of January 2015.

                                                                                                                                BY ORDER

Original signed by:

                                                                                                                                D. A. Cote

                                                                                                                                Panel Chair/Commissioner

Attachments

FortisBC Energy Inc.

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity Application
for the Lower Mainland Intermediate Pressure System Upgrade Projects

REGULATORY TIMETABLE

 

 

 

 

Lower Mainland Intermediate Pipeline System Upgrade

On December 19, 2014, FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) 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, to replace two intermediate pressure (IP) pipeline segments in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia with an estimated construction cost of $264 million. FEI proposes to begin construction activities in the spring of 2018 and complete the in-service date before the end of 2018. Final restoration would complete in the summer of 2019.

The larger of the two replacement segments consists of replacing approximately 20 km of an existing 20” pipeline operating at 1200 kPa between Coquitlam Gate Station and East 2^nd & Woodland Station that is showing evidence of nearing the end of its useful life with a new 30” pipeline operating at 2070 kPa. The second replacement consists of replacing a short 0.5 km section of 30” pipeline operating at 1200 kPa with equivalent size and operating pressure between Fraser Gate Station and East Kent Avenue & Elliott Street in Vancouver to upgrade this segment to meet FEI’s seismic criteria for critical facilities with the majority of FEI’s 210,000 customers in the Metro Vancouver communities of Vancouver, Burnaby, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, West Vancouver and the District of North Vancouver served through the Fraser Gate Station.

How to Get Involved

Persons wishing to actively participate in the proceeding must register as an intervener through the Commission’s website at www.bcuc.com or in writing by January 26, 2015. In their registration, interveners must identify the issues they intend to pursue and indicate the extent of their anticipated involvement in the review process. Interveners will each receive a copy of all non-confidential correspondence and filed documentation, and must provide an email address if available.

Persons not expecting to actively participate, but who have an interest in the proceeding, should register as an interested party through the Commission’s website or in writing, by January 26, 2015, identifying their interest in the proceeding. Interested parties receive a copy of the Decision when it is released.

Letters of comment on the Application will also be accepted. All submissions and/or correspondence received relating to the Application are provided to the Panel and all participants in the proceeding. Submissions are placed on the public record and posted to the Commission’s website. By participating and/or providing comment on the Application, you agree that all submissions will be placed on the public record and posted on the Commission’s website. 

If you wish to attend the Workshop or the Procedural Conference please register with the Commission Secretary using the contact information provided at the end of this notice.

View the Application

The Application and all supporting documentation are available on the Commission’s website on the “Current Applications” page. If you would like to review the material in hard copy, it is available to be viewed at the locations below:

For More Information or to Register

For more information or to register please contact Ms. Erica Hamilton, Commission Secretary using the contact information above.