ORDER NUMBER
E-20-18
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
FortisBC Inc.
Application for Acceptance of an Energy Supply Contract for 2019
BEFORE:
B. A. Magnan, Commissioner
R. D. Revel, Commissioner
D. J. Enns, Commissioner
on July 26, 2018
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On May 28, 2018, pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA), FortisBC Inc. (FBC) filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC ) an energy supply contract (Agreement) between FBC and Powerex Corporation (Powerex) for the purchase of wholesale market energy (Application);
B. By Order G-61-12 dated May 17, 2012, the BCUC approved Rules for Energy Supply Contracts for Electricity (Rules). The Rules facilitate the BCUC’s review of energy supply contracts for electricity, and proposed energy supply contracts for electricity under section 71 of the UCA;
C. By Order E-10-15 dated April 27, 2015, the BCUC accepted the Capacity and Energy Purchase and Sale Agreement (CEPSA) between FBC and Powerex. The CEPSA is a master agreement that sets out the terms and conditions for future market transactions, regarding capacity and energy, entered into by FBC with Powerex;
D. By Order G-117-18 dated June 28, 2018, the BCUC accepted FBC’s 2016 Long Term Electric Resource Plan (2016 LTERP) up to and including 2024. In the order, the BCUC also directed that the next LTERP should be developed and filed no later than December 1, 2021;
E. The energy supply contract in the Application is for the purchase of wholesale market energy in the first quarter of 2019 and were made pursuant to the CEPSA;
F. FBC requests that the information in the Application and the Agreement be kept confidential due to its commercially sensitive nature. FBC provided notice of its filing and redacted versions of the Agreement to interveners in its most recent annual review of rates application, the Annual Review for 2017 Rates; and
G. The BCUC reviewed the Application and is satisfied that the Agreement is in the public interest and consistent with FBC’s 2018/19 Annual Electric Contracting Plan, as well as FBC’s 2016 LTERP up to and including 2024.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 71 of the UCA, the BCUC accepts the energy supply contract executed May 25, 2018, between FBC and Powerex. The BCUC will keep the Application and the Agreement confidential due to their commercially sensitive nature.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 26th day of July 2018.
BY ORDER
Original signe by:
B. A. Magnan
Commissioner