Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-17-20

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

General Service Rate Schedules 1205, 1206 and 1207 (General Service E-Plus) Amendments Application

BEFORE:

B. A. Magnan, Panel Chair

C. M. Brewer, Commissioner

E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner

on January 30, 2020

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      On November 14, 2019, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for approval of amendments to Rate Schedules (RS) 1205, 1206 and 1207 General Service – Dual Fuel (Closed) (General Service E-Plus) (Application). The proposed amendments allow customers to make changes to their space, water and industrial process heating equipment, remove the requirement to maintain a permanent back-up heating system and clarify that BC Hydro will not be providing service under these Rate Schedules to any premises beyond March 31, 2023, amongst other things;

B.      On June 18, 2019, BC Hydro issued a letter to all General Service E-Plus customers to notify them that
BC Hydro will not be providing service under RS 1205, 1206 and 1207 to any premises beyond March 31, 2023 and all accounts will be transferred to the appropriate General Service rate schedules effective April 1, 2023;

C.      BC Hydro proposes a limited regulatory process where all General Service E-Plus customers may submit comments on the Application, followed by BC Hydro reply comments, if any;

D.      BC Hydro filed supplementary evidence on January 14, 2020, as directed by BCUC under Order G-336-19 dated December 19, 2019; and

E.       The BCUC has reviewed the supplementary evidence and considers that a regulatory timetable should be established.

NOW THEREFORE pursuant to sections 58 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act, the BCUC orders as follows:

1.       A regulatory timetable is established, as set out in Appendix A to this order.

2.       BC Hydro is directed to provide notice of the Application to existing General Service E-Plus customers in accordance with the regulatory timetable attached to this order. The notice must include the following information:

a.       A copy of this order;

b.      Information on the opportunity for General Service E-Plus customers to provide comments to the BCUC on the Application, in accordance with the regulatory timetable attached to this order;

c.       The estimated minimum, average and maximum annual bill impact per customer upon transition from General Service E-Plus rates to the applicable General Service rate effective April 1, 2023, for each of RS 1205, 1206 and 1207;

d.      Contact information within BC Hydro where General Service E-Plus customers can obtain assistance in estimating their individual annual bill impact, if any, for transitioning from the applicable General Service E-Plus rate to the applicable General Service rate effective April 1, 2023; and

e.      Link to the BCUC proceeding webpage for the Application.

3.       BC Hydro is directed to file with the BCUC a sample copy of the notice provided to General Service E-Plus customers in response to Directive 2 of this order, as soon as is reasonably possible, but by no later than February 18, 2020.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this       30^th         day of January 2020.

BY ORDER

Original signed by:

B. A. Magnan

Commissioner

Attachment

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

General Service Rate Schedules 1205, 1206 and 1207 (General Service E-Plus) Amendments Application