Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-279-19

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2021 Revenue Requirements Application

BEFORE:

D. M. Morton, Panel Chair

A. K. Fung, QC, Commissioner

E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner

R. I. Mason, Commissioner

on November 13, 2019

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      On February 25, 2019, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) filed its Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2021 (F2020–F2021) Revenue Requirements Application (Application) with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) pursuant to sections 44.2, 58 to 61 and 99 of the Utilities Commission Act requesting, among other things:

1.       approval of a reduction of the Deferral Account Rate Rider from 5 percent to 0 percent effective April 1, 2019;

2.       approval of an increase in rates by 6.85 percent effective April 1, 2019;

3.       approval of an increase in rates by 0.72 percent effective April 1, 2020; and

4.       approval of the F2020–F2021 Open Access Transmission Tariff rates as set out in Table 9‑8 of the Application effective April 1, 2019 and April 1, 2020, respectively;

B.      On March 1, 2019, by Order G-45-19, the BCUC established a Regulatory Timetable for the initial review of the Application;

C.      By Orders G-146-19, G-218-19 and G-268-19, the Panel established and later amended the Regulatory Timetable for the review of the Application which provided for, among other things, BC Hydro to file responses to information requests (IRs) regarding its 20-year load forecast on November 14, 2019;

D.      By letter dated November 8, 2019, BC Hydro submitted that due to the unanticipated high volume of IRs received regarding its 20-year load forecast, it will file as many responses to the IRs that it can by November 14, 2019, but requested an extension to file any remaining responses by November 21, 2019 (Extension Letter). BC Hydro also requested that the BCUC direct that BC Hydro not be obligated to answer the IRs listed in Attachment A to the Extension Letter as these IRs are not required for the BCUC to make a decision on the Application and are best addreseed through BC Hydro’s upcoming 2021 Integrated Resource Plan proceeding; and

E.       The BCUC has considered the Extension Letter and finds that an amendment to the Regulatory Timetable for the review of the Application is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE, for the reasons attached as Appendix B to this order, the BCUC further amends the Regulatory Timetable amended by Order G-268-19. The further amended Regulatory Timetable is set out in Appendix A to this order.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this           13th           day of November 2019.

BY ORDER

Original Signed By:

D. M. Morton

Commissioner

Attachments

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2021 Revenue Requirements Application

* All parties may ask IRs on the intervener evidence filed

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2021 Revenue Requirements Application

By Orders G-146-19, G-218-19 and G-268-19, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) established and later amended the Regulatory Timetable for the review of British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority’s (BC Hydro) Fiscal 2020 to Fiscal 2021 (F2020–F2021) Revenue Requirements Application (Application), which provided for, among other items, BC Hydro to file responses to information requests (IRs) regarding its 20-year load forecast on November 14, 2019.

By letter dated November 8, 2019, BC Hydro requested an extension to file its responses to the IRs regarding its 20-year load forecast to November 21, 2019 due to the unanticipated high volume of IRs received (Extension Letter). BC Hydro submitted that it has received a total of 327 IRs with respect to its 20-year load forecast and that it will “make its best efforts to file as many responses as possible by the original deadline of Thursday November 14,” but requests to file its remaining responses by November 21, 2019.[1] In Attachment A to the Extension Letter, BC Hydro also listed IRs that, in its view, “go well beyond what is required for the BCUC to make a decision on the Application and are best addressed through the upcoming 2021 Integrated Resource Plan proceeding.”[2] Thus, BC Hydro requests the BCUC direct that BC Hydro not be obligated to answer the IRs listed in Attachment A to the Extension Letter.

BCUC Determination

The Panel accepts BC Hydro’s argument that the number of IRs it has received with respect to its 20-year load forecast may be greater than the amount it had originally anticipated. However, the Panel also recognizes that the procedural conference for parties to identify items to remove from the scope of the oral hearing is currently scheduled to commence at 1 p.m. on November 22, 2019. The Panel notes that BC Hydro has not indicated the number of IR responses it anticipates filing after the original November 14, 2019 deadline. However, BC Hydro had indicated its commitment to file as many responses as it possibly can by the original deadline. Given this uncertainty and the short period of time between the procedural conference and the date requested by BC Hydro to file its remaining responses to the IRs on the 20-year load forecast, the Panel finds that parties may not have time to adequately review the responses prior to the procedural conference. Thus, the Panel denies BC Hydro’s extension request of November 21, 2019 and instead amends the Regulatory Timetable to allow BC Hydro until Tuesday, November 19, 2019 to file its remaining responses to the IRs with respect to its 20‑year load forecast, excluding those IRs identified in Attachment A to the Extension Letter.

With respect to BC Hydro’s request for the BCUC to direct that BC Hydro not be obligated to answer the IRs listed in Attachment A to the Extension Letter, the Panel invites the interveners whose IRs are included in that attachment to provide a submission to the BCUC, by Friday, November 15, 2019, that clearly explains how each of its respective IRs would inform the BCUC’s decision regarding the requested rates for F2020–F2021. The Panel also invites BC Hydro to provide a reply submission to the BCUC by Tuesday, November 19, 2019. Following parties’ submissions, the Panel will make a determination regarding which IRs included in Attachment A to the Extension Letter, if any, BC Hydro will be obligated to respond to and the deadline for response.