ORDER NUMBER
G-82-16
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
British Columbia Utilities Commission
Recovery of Commission Costs
for the 2016/17 Fiscal Year
BEFORE:
D. M. Morton, Commissioner
D. J. Enns, Commissioner
H. G. Harowitz, Commissioner
R. I. Mason, Commissioner
R. D. Revel, Commissioner
on June 2, 2016
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. Section 125 of the Utilities Commission Act (the Act) enables the British Columbia Utilities Commission (the Commission) to recover its expenses arising from the administration of the Act, in each fiscal year commencing April 1 and to fix and collect levies from public utilities and other persons so defined. B.C. Regulation 283/88 dated July 29, 1988, authorizes the Commission to collect and retain all levies collected under the Regulation and to base the amount of a levy on the value and the volume of the energy transmitted or distributed or the service furnished;
B. The current year’s levy for recovering Commission expenses is based on its 2016/17 approved budget plus the Commission’s over-recovery of $1,342,004.21 from 2015/16. That figure is then divided by the total energy sales of the regulated energy utilities for the calendar year 2015;
C. The Commission will recover its expenses from the levy calculation on a quarterly basis and may adjust the fourth quarter billing in order to account for additional revenues received during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2016;
D. The Commission’s recovery of its apportioned costs to the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC) requires a different method of cost recovery rather than by way of a levy on energy sales;
E. For ICBC, the Commission has estimated the costs of the service furnished, including its Commissioners, staff and apportioned administrative office costs for 2016/17.
NOW THEREFORE the British Columbia Utilities Commission orders as follows:
1. A levy, at the rate of $0.0152668 per GJ equivalent of energy sold for the calendar year 2015 shall be paid by, and collected from, the public utilities listed below for the recovery of Commission expenses in the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2016.
2. The following public utilities are required to pay the levy fixed for the 2016/17 fiscal year, to be billed in installments, as set out in Appendix A attached to this order.
Electric Utilities
British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority
FortisBC Inc.
The Corporation of the City of Nelson (rural areas)
Hemlock Valley Electrical Services Limited
The Yukon Electrical Company Limited
Silversmith Power & Light Corporation
Corix Multi-Utility Services Inc. – Sun Rivers
Gas Utilities
FortisBC Energy Inc.
Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.
Pacific Northern Gas (N.E.) Ltd.
Big White Gas Utility
Port Alice Gas Inc.
Sun Peaks Utilities Co. Ltd.
Corix Multi-Utility Services Inc. – Sun Rivers, Panorama and Sonoma Pines
Stargas Utilities Ltd.
Cal Gas Inc. – Kickinghorse/Canyon Ridge
Thermal Energy Utilities
FortisBC Alternative Energy Services Inc.
Creative Energy Vancouver Platforms Inc.
Dockside Green Energy
River District Energy Inc.
Corix Multi-Utility Services Inc. – UniverCity and UBC
3. Pursuant to section 125 of the Utilities Commission Act (the Act) and the regulation of the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia (ICBC), ICBC shall pay the Commission’s 2016/17 allocated budgeted expenses of $700,000.00, in quarterly installments.
4. The Commission’s cost recovery for ICBC for 2016/17 will be reviewed in the last quarter to ensure the apportioned costs to this company are appropriate.
5. Pursuant to Levy Regulation 283/88 and Letter L-39-96, the following upstream natural gas processors and intraprovincial oil pipelines shall pay the following amounts for the fiscal year commencing April 1, 2016:
Canadian Natural Resources Limited $1,000
Canadian Natural Resources Limited – Inga Oil Pipeline $1,000
Trans Mountain (Jet Fuel) Inc. $1,000
Plateau Pipeline Ltd.
- Blueberry $1,000
- Northeast BC & Boundary Lake $1,000
- Sunset Prairie $1,000
- Taylor to Dawson Creek $1,000
- Western System $1,000
Spectra Energy Midstream Corporation
(Boundary Lake, Jedney I, Jedney II, Midwinter, Peggo, Sunrise, Tooga, West Doe
& Hwy Processing & Pipeline Facilities, West Doe & Hwy Transportation &
Processing Facilities) $10,000
6. The cost recovery revenue from natural gas marketers applying for licences to operate under the residential and commercial unbundling program shall be $1,000.00 per applicant, for an estimated total of $9,000.00.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 2nd day of June 2016.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
D. M. Morton
Commissioner
Attachment