ORDER NUMBER
G-69-16
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
Port Alice Gas Inc.
Application for Approval to Increase
the Basic Charge and Facility Charge
BEFORE:
B. A. Magnan
on May 17, 2016
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On December 7, 2015, Port Alice Gas Inc. (PAG) applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) for an order approving an increase in the Basic Charge from $6.00 per month to $0.40 per day (nominally $12.00 per month) and to increase the Facility Charge from $17.32 to $38.90 per cubic meter of propane, effective January 1, 2016 (Application);
B. By Order G-211-15 on December 21, 2015, the Commission approved the requested rate changes on an interim and refundable basis effective January 1, 2016;
C. On March 14, 2016, PAG filed a submission requesting that the utility be released from its obligations to operate as a regulated utility, and that PAG and the Commission no longer invest time in the Application while the request for PAG to be released from regulated utility operations is being considered. PAG requested that the interim increase in the Basic Charge and Facility Charge remain in effect while the requests are being considered;
D. By Order G-45-16 on April 6, 2016, the Commission suspended the Application subject to Directive 2 in the order, which directed PAG to file a separate application that fully describes the modifications to PAG operations that are being requested, and directed that the interim and refundable increases in the Basic Charge and the Facility Charge remain in effect until the Commission makes a future determination;
E. On May 11, 2016, PAG filed a submission clarifying that the correct unit of measurement for the Facility Charge is dollars per litre, and that the proposed Facility Charge is $0.389 per litre ($389.00 per cubic meter of propane) effective January 1, 2016, not $38.90 per cubic meter of propane as originally applied-for and approved by Order G-211-15; and
F. The Commission reviewed PAG’s May 11, 2016 submission and considers that Commission Order G-211-15 should be rescinded.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to sections 60, and 99 of the Utilities Commission Act, the British Columbia Utilities Commission orders as follows:
1. Order G-211-15 is rescinded and replaced with this order.
2. The Port Alice Gas Inc. (PAG) application for an order approving an increase in the Basic Charge from $6.00 per month to $0.40 per day (nominally $12.00 per month) and to increase the Facility Charge from $0.173 to $0.3890 per litre of propane is approved on an interim and refundable basis effective January 1, 2016.
3. Any differences between the interim and permanent rates that are determined by the Commission following final disposition of the Application are subject to refund/recovery, with interest, at the average prime rate of PAG’s principal bank for its most recent year in the manner as set out by a Commission order that establishes permanent rates.
4. PAG is to inform customers of the change in rates in their next monthly bill, and to provide a copy of this order to the Port Alice Community Centre to provide adequate notice to those parties who may have an interest in or be affected by the Application.
5. The Application together with any supporting materials, will be available for inspection at the Port Alice Community Centre, at the British Columbia Utilities Commission, Sixth Floor, 900 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC, V6Z 2N3, and will also be available on the Commission’s website.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 17th day of May 2016.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
B. A. Magnan
Commissioner