ORDER NUMBER
G-45-18
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority
Transmission Service Freshet Rate Pilot
Application for Year 3 Extension
BEFORE:
D. M. Morton, Commissioner
on February 28, 2018
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. As part of the 2015 Rate Design Application (RDA) filed on September 24, 2015, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) sought approval from the British Columbia Utilities Commission (Commission) for a new optional rate schedule (RS) 1892 – Transmission Service – Freshet Energy (RS 1892), which provides participating customers market pricing for incremental consumption during the freshet period (May 1 to July 31 inclusive) on a pilot basis ending December 31, 2017 (the Freshet Rate Pilot);
B. By Order No. G-17-16, dated February 9, 2016, RS 1892 was approved, pursuant to sections 58-61 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA). Directive 3 of Order No. G-17-16 instructed BC Hydro to file three evaluation reports of the Freshet Rate Pilot as described in section 7.3.4.6 of the 2015 RDA;
C. In compliance with Order No. G-17-16, BC Hydro filed its preliminary evaluation report for Year 1 on December 8, 2016 (Appendix D to the report was filed on January 27, 2017);
D. On December 8, 2017, BC Hydro filed its preliminary evaluation report for Year 2 in compliance with Order No. G-17-16;
E. On December 8, 2017, along with the submission of its preliminary evaluation report for Year 2 and pursuant to sections 58-61 of the UCA, BC Hydro applied to extend the termination date of the Freshet Rate Pilot to include a third year so that the rate schedule would expire on December 31, 2018 (Application);
F. In the Application, BC Hydro also proposed to extend the timeline for filing the final Freshet Rate Pilot evaluation report from spring 2018, as outlined in the 2015 RDA, to fall 2018;
G. By Order G-41-18, dated February 15, 2018, a compressed regulatory timetable was approved to gather feedback and comments from all parties who made submissions regarding RS 1892 as part of the 2015 RDA;
H. No comments were received on the Application; and
I. The Commission has reviewed the Application and finds the extension of the Freshet Rate Pilot to be warranted.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to sections 58 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act, the Commission orders the following:
1. The termination date of the Freshet Rate Pilot is extended by one year.
2. Rate Schedule (RS) 1892 will terminate effective December 31, 2018; and all other terms and conditions of RS 1892 will remain.
3. Amendments to RS 1892, as reflected in Attachment 2 of the Application, are approved as filed, effective May 1, 2018.
4. BC Hydro is required to submit its final evaluation report of the Freshet Rate Pilot, including an evaluation of Year 3, in fall 2018.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 28th day of February, 2018.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
D. M. Morton
Commissioner