ORDER NUMBER
R-19-16
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
British Columbia Mandatory Reliability Standards Program
Applicability of Mandatory Reliability Standards
BEFORE:
D. M. Morton, Commissioner
D. J. Enns, Commissioner
H. G. Harowitz, Commissioner
R. I. Mason, Commissioner
on May 19, 2016
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On May 18, 2016, the Mandatory Reliability Standards Regulation (MRS Regulation), was revised by Ministerial Order M 171 dated May 18, 2016, to remove certain definitions, including the definition of the bulk power system along with its reference to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation’s (NERC) Bulk Electric System (BES), and to remove section 2, Application;
B. On May 1, 2008, the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) was amended to include section 125.2, which outlined the responsibilities of the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) for the British Columbia Mandatory Reliability Standards Program (BC MRS Program). Section 125.2(1) defined “reliability standard” and sections 125.2(8) and (9) specified that the reliability standards adopted by the Commission apply to every prescribed owner, operator and direct user of the bulk power system, and prescribed generator and distributor of electricity, despite any exemptions under other sections of the UCA;
C. The MRS Regulation, Ministerial Order M039, deposited February 23, 2009, and amended October 7, 2014, defined the bulk power system and other terms related to the Commission administered BC MRS Program and specified the applicability of reliability standards in BC. The bulk power system, as defined by the MRS Regulation, included (a) the transmission elements listed as inclusions in the NERC definition, and (b) all transmission elements operated at 100 kilovolts or higher and real power and reactive power resources connected at 100 kilovolts or higher, but did not include transmission elements listed as exclusions in the NERC definition, which is a reference to the NERC BES definition. Specifically, section 2 of the MRS Regulation, Application, stated that a reliability standard adopted under section 125.2(6) of the UCA applies to all owners, operators and direct users of an element that is part of the bulk power system;
D. On November 17, 2015, the UCA was amended to repeal sections 125.2(8) and 125.2(9) and include updated sections 125.2(8) and 125.2(9). Pursuant to the amended UCA section 125.2(8.3), the Commission may, by order, specify that a reliability standard adopted under the UCA applies or does not apply to a specified person, a class of persons or a person in respect of specified equipment; and
E. The Commission considers clarification of the applicability of reliability standards in British Columbia is warranted.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to subsections 125.2(8.3) of the Utilities Commission Act the Mandatory Reliability Standards, adopted by the British Columbia Utilities Commission and in effect in British Columbia, apply to those entities currently registered in the British Columbia Mandatory Reliability Standards Program for the applicable function(s).
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 19th day of May 2016.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
D. M. Morton
Commissioner
Attachment