Via Email
mmoon@wecc.biz November 5, 2015
Mr. Michael Moon
Vice President, Registered Entity Oversight
Western Electricity Coordinating Council
155 North 400 West, Suite 200
Salt Lake City, UT 84103
Dear Mr. Moon:
Re: British Columbia Mandatory Reliability Standards Program
Review of Entity Registration
This letter is to request the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC), in consultation with Commission staff, to review selected Entities registered with the British Columbia Mandatory Reliability Standards Program (BC MRS Program) in order to establish if an Entity qualifies for deregistration of some or all of its functions. Further, once a registration review has been initiated, WECC is asked to temporarily suspend administrative process for an Entity under review.
The provisions of section 125.2 of the Utilities Commission Act and the Mandatory Reliability Standards Regulation (MRS Regulation) establish the framework for the BC MRS Program. The MRS Regulation under BC Reg 32/2009, Ministerial Order M039 contained the first legislated definition of the bulk power system and other terms related to the BC MRS Program and also prescribed the entities that are subject to reliability standards in BC.
As the Commission’s MRS Administrator, WECC assists the Commission in matters of registration and compliance monitoring pursuant to the Administration Agreement, dated October 15, 2009 and renewed August 21, 2014. On October 7, 2014, Ministerial Order M325 amended the MRS Regulation with a revised definition of the bulk power system and a revision to the parties that are subject to Reliability Standards in BC. In consideration of the amendments, some Entities requested that WECC review their registration status. Upon WECC’s recommendation, the Commission deregistered those Entities from the BC MRS Program that qualified for deregistration.
On October 29, 2014, the Commission issued Letter L-56-14 to all Entities registered with the BC MRS Program informing them of the amended MRS Regulation and stating that any Entity that believed the amended MRS Regulation may change its registration status should request WECC to review its registration.
Therefore, to consider certain Entities that have not applied for a review of their registration, the Commission requests that WECC, in consultation with Commission staff, review selected Entities to establish if an Entity qualifies for deregistration of some or all of its functions. Following review, WECC is requested to submit a recommendation to the Commission, which could also include information pertaining to an Entity’s unmitigated violations. Once a registration review has been initiated, WECC is asked to suspend administrative process for the Entity until the review is complete and the Commission has made a determination regarding the Entity’s registration.
Yours truly,
Erica Hamilton
CAS/cms
Cc: bcuc@wecc.biz