Orders

ORDER NUMBER

E-13-16

IN THE MATTER OF

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

and

Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.

Section 71 Filing of 2015/2016 Natural Gas Energy Supply Contracts – Summer Supply

BEFORE:

D. M. Morton, Commissioner

D. J. Enns, Commissioner

W. M. Everett, Commissioner

M. Kresivo, Commissioner

H. G. Harowitz, Commissioner

R. I. Mason, Commissioner

on July 28, 2016

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      By Letter L-29-15 dated July 23, 2015, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) accepted the Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) Annual Gas Contracting Plan dated June 2015 (2015 ACP), which covered the period of November 2015 to October 2016 (2015/2016 Gas Year). The 2015 ACP describes PNG’s plan to meet the natural gas requirements for all of PNG’s service areas, including PNG-West (west of Summit Lake) and Pacific Northern Gas (N.E.) Ltd. [PNG(N.E.)], for the 2015/2016 Gas Year.PNG (N.E.) includes Fort
St. John, Dawson Creek and Tumbler Ridge;

B.      By Order E-24-2015 dated November 19, 2015, the Commission accepted for filing natural gas supply contracts for November 2015 to October 2016. In the Filing dated October 29, 2015, PNG noted that gas supply for the May 2016 to September 2016 period will be completed in the first quarter of 2016 and that those contracts will be filed with the Commission at that time;

C.      On July 7, 2016, pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act and the British Columbia Utilities Commission Rules for Natural Gas Energy Supply Contracts, PNG filed its Gas Supply Contracting Report for June 2016 to September 2016 (Application);

D.      PNG requests that the details of the filing be kept confidential for the reasons of commercial sensitivity and submits that disclosure of this information may adversely affect PNG’s ability to secure the most competitively priced gas supply arrangements in the future; and

E.       The Commission reviewed the natural gas supply contracts, shown in Appendix A of this order, and is satisfied they are appropriate considering market conditions at the time they were negotiated, consistent with PNG’s 2015 ACP, and in the public interest.

NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act, and the British Columbia Utilities Commission Rules for Natural Gas Energy Supply Contracts:

1.       The Commission accepts for filing the natural gas contracts between Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. and Tenaska Marketing Canada as being in the public interest, as shown in Appendix A to this order.

2.       The Commission will keep the contracts and the filing confidential as requested by Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. as they contain commercially sensitive information.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this          28^th                 day of July 2016.

BY ORDER

Original signed by:

D. M. Morton

Commissioner

Attachment

Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.

Filling for 2015/2016 Natural Gas Supply Contracts – Summer Supply