Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-250-18

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

FortisBC Inc.

Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the

Grand Forks Terminal Station Reliability Project

 

BEFORE:

R. I. Mason, Panel Chair/ Commissioner

W. M. Everett, QC, Commissioner

B. A. Magnan, Commissioner

 

on December 21, 2018

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On November 19, 2018, FortisBC Inc. (FBC) submitted an application to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) seeking approval for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA), for the Grand Forks Terminal (GFT) Station Reliability Project (Application);

B.      The Application consists of the following (collectively, the Project):

1. Purchase and Installation of a second transformer at GFT Station;
2. Removal of 44.6km of transmission lines “9 line” (9L) and “10 line” (10L) between the Christina Lake and Cascade substations; and
3. Repurposing of the remaining 20.8km of transmission lines 9L and 10L to distribution lines in order to continue supplying power to existing customers;

C.      By Order G-80-16 dated June 3, 2016, the BCUC directed FBC to file a CPCN for the GFT Station Transformer Addition Project should the addition proceed;

D.      The estimated total cost of the Project in as-spent dollars is $13.2 million, including allowance for funds used during construction and the cost of removal of transmission lines 9L and 10L;

E.       FBC requests that Appendices C, H, I and J attached to the Application relating to engineering, risk assessments and cost estimates be treated as confidential due to their commercially sensitive nature and to maintain the safety and security of FBC assets; and

F.       The BCUC has determined that a public hearing to review the Application is warranted.

 

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

1.       A written hearing is established for the review of the Application in accordance with the Regulatory Timetable attached as Appendix A to this order.

2.       FBC is to publish, in display-ad format, as soon as reasonably possible but no later than January 9, 2019, the Notice of Application attached as Appendix B to this Order, in such appropriate news publications as may properly provide adequate notice to the public in the affected service area.

3.       Appendices C, H, I and J attached to the Application will be held confidential, due to their commercially sensitive nature and to maintain the safety and security of FBC assets.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this            21^st            day of December 2018.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original signed by:

 

R. I. Mason

Commissioner

 

 

Attachment

 

 

FortisBC Inc.

Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the

Grand Forks Terminal Station Reliability Project

 

 

 

 

On November 19, 2018, FortisBC Inc. filed an application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA), requesting approval of the following: i) purchase and installation of a second transformer at the Grand Forks Terminal Station, and ii) removal and repurpose of sections of 9 Line (9L) and 10 Line (10L), two transmission lines located between Christina Lake and Cascade substations. FBC states that the Project, estimated at a cost of $13.2 million, is required to maintain minimum reliability standards for the Grand Forks area in the event of an outage, or failure of the existing transformer at Grand Forks Terminal Station.

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE There are a number of ways to participate in a matter before the BCUC: •         Submit a letter of comment •         Register as an interested party •         Request intervener status   For more information, or to find the forms for any of the options above, please visit our website or contact us at the information below.   https://www.bcuc.com/resources/forms.html   All submissions received, including letters of comment, are placed on the public record, posted on the BCUC’s website and provided to the Panel and all participants in the proceeding.

NEXT STEPS 1.       Intervener registration Persons who are directly or sufficiently affected by the BCUC’s decision or have relevant information or expertise and that wish to actively participate in the proceeding can request intervener status by submitting a completed Request to Intervene Form by January 17, 2019.

 

GET MORE INFORMATION
All documents filed on the public record are available on the “Current Proceedings” page of the BCUC’s website at www.bcuc.com.   If you would like to review the material in hard copy, or if you have any other inquiries, please contact Patrick Wruck, Commission Secretary, at the following contact information.	British Columbia Utilities Commission Suite 410, 900 Howe Street Vancouver, BC Canada  V6Z 2N3   E: Commission.Secretary@bcuc.com   P: 604.660.4700