ORDER NUMBER
G-122-19
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
FortisBC Energy Inc.
Application for Acceptance of the Biogas Purchase Agreement
Between FortisBC Energy Inc. and the City of Vancouver
BEFORE:
D. M. Morton, Panel Chair
A. K. Fung, QC, Commissioner
R. I. Mason, Commissioner
on June 6, 2019
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On September 21, 2018, FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), on a confidential basis, an application for acceptance of a Biogas Purchase Agreement (BPA) between FEI and the City of Vancouver (COV) pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act (Application);
B. On October 31, 2018, the BCUC issued a letter requesting FEI to file a non-confidential redacted version of the Application and the BPA, pursuant to section 18.01(b) of the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure to allow for a public hearing process;
C. Under the BPA, FEI intends to: purchase landfill gas from the COV; construct and operate facilities to upgrade landfill gas to renewable natural gas; and construct interconnection facilities including a 500 metre pipeline to connect to FEI’s existing natural gas distribution system;
D. By Order G-219-18 dated November 16, 2018, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable which included intervener registration, one round of BCUC information requests, a procedural conference and further process to be determined;
E. By December 4, 2018, the British Columbia Ministry of Energy, Mines & Petroleum Resources, COV and the Commercial Energy Consumers Association of British Columbia registered as interveners;
F. By Order G-234-18 dated December 7, 2018, the BCUC amended the regulatory timetable to include written submissions from FEI and registered interveners as well as a written reply from FEI;
G. On January 16, 2019, the BCUC held a procedural conference and requested parties to provide comments on: the need for intervener information requests to FEI; the appropriate issues to be included in final arguments; and each party’s proposed regulatory timetable for the remainder of the proceeding. FEI, COV, MEMPR and the CEC attended and made submissions at the conference;
H. By Order G-14-19 dated January 22, 2019, the BCUC established the remainder of the regulatory timetable which included intervener information requests , FEI’s final argument ,intervener final arguments and FEI’s reply argument;
I. On March 1, 2019, FEI submitted its final argument;
J. On March 8, 2019, the interveners submitted final arguments;
K. On March 15, 2019, FEI submitted its reply argument; and
L. The BCUC has reviewed the evidence and arguments submitted in this proceeding and makes the following determinations.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act, and for the reasons outlined in the decision issued concurrently with this order; the BCUC adjourns this proceeding for 60 days from the date of this order to allow FEI to restructure and resubmit to this Panel the Project and/or its Biogas Purchase Agreement with the City of Vancouver in a way that provides the required certainty to FEI’s acquisition cost of the RNG so as to qualify as a prescribed undertaking within the specified cost threshold.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 6th day of June 2019.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
D. M. Morton
Commissioner