ORDER NUMBER

F-12-20

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

British Columbia Hydro Power and Authority

Application for 2019 Letter Agreement with Powerex Corp.

Participant Assistance/Cost Award Application

 

BEFORE:

T. A. Loski, Panel Chair/Commissioner

 

on April 20, 2020

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On August 2, 2019, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) seeking approval of a letter agreement dated June 6, 2019, (2019 Letter Agreement) between BC Hydro and Powerex Corp. (Powerex), pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) (Application);

B.      The 2019 Letter Agreement enables BC Hydro to enter into forward electricity purchase transactions by which Powerex agrees to sell and deliver and BC Hydro agrees to purchase and receive wholesale electricity (Agreement);

C.      By Orders G-204-19, G-243-19, G-288-19 and G-301-19, the BCUC established and subsequently amended the regulatory timetable for review of the Application. The timetable included intervener registration, one round of BCUC and intervener information requests (IRs), two rounds of Panel IRs and submissions of final and reply arguments;

D.      The following parties registered as interveners in the proceeding to review the Application:

•         Association of Major Power Companies of B.C. (AMPC);

•         British Columbia Old Age Pensioners’ Organization et al. (BCOAPO);

•         Clean Energy Association of BC (CEABC); and

•         Commercial Energy Consumers Association of British Columbia (CEC);

E.       On February 21, 2020, by Order E-2-20 and accompanying reasons for decision, the BCUC accepted the 2019 Letter Agreement for filing;

F.       The following participants filed Participant Assistance/Cost Award (PACA) applications with the BCUC with respect to their participation in the proceeding:

 

G.     By letter dated March 24, 2020, BC Hydro provided its comments on the PACA applications; and

H.      The BCUC has reviewed the PACA applications in accordance with the criteria and rates set out in the PACA Guidelines, attached to BCUC Order G-97-17, and BC Hydro’s comments on the PACA applications, and makes the following determinations.

NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 118(1) of the Utilities Commission Act, and for the reasons for decision attached as Appendix A to this order, the BCUC orders as follows:

 

1.       Funding is awarded to the following interveners in the listed amounts for their participation in the proceeding:

 

2.       BC Hydro is directed to reimburse the above noted participants for their respective awarded amounts in a timely manner.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this       20^th            day of April 2020.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original signed by:

 

T. A. Loski

Commissioner

 

Attachment

 

APPENDIX A

to Order F-12-20

 

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Application for 2019 Letter Agreement with Powerex Corp.

Participant Assistant/Cost Award Application

 

1.0       Background

By Order E-2-20 with accompanying reasons for decision dated February 21, 2020, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) accepted for filing a letter agreement dated June 6, 2019 (2019 Letter Agreement) between British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) and Powerex Corp. (Powerex).

 

Participant Assistance/Cost Award (PACA) applications were filed by the following interveners for their participation in the proceeding, as summarized below:

 

 

Section 118 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) provides that “The Commission may order a participant in a proceeding before the commission to pay all or part of the costs of another participant in the proceeding.”

2.0       PACA Guidelines

In its review of the PACA applications, the Panel was guided by the PACA Guidelines as set out in Appendix A attached to BCUC Order G-97-17, which set out the eligibility requirements and criteria used in assessing cost awards, including the process for applying for a cost award, eligible costs and rates.

 

Section 3.1 of the PACA Guidelines outlines the considerations to determine participant eligibility for a cost award. The BCUC will consider whether the participant:

(a)                is directly or sufficiently affected by the BCUC’s decision; or

(b)               has experience, information, or expertise relevant to a matter before the BCUC that would contribute to the BCUC’s decision-making.

Section 3.2 of the PACA Guidelines describes the general characteristics of a participant in a proceeding that would meet the eligibility criterion. Included among examples of these is a participant representing the direct

interests of ratepayer groups or affected groups in relation to matters that are regulated by the BCUC. If the participant is eligible for a cost award, the Panel then considers the following in determining the amount of a participant’s cost award in accordance with section 4.3 of the PACA Guidelines:

(a)          Has the participant contributed to a better understanding by the BCUC of the issues in the proceeding?

(b)         To what degree will the participant be affected by the outcome of the proceeding?

(c)          Are the costs incurred by the participant fair and reasonable?

(d)         Has the participant joined with other groups with similar interests to reduce costs?

(e)         Has the participant made reasonable efforts to avoid conduct that would unnecessarily lengthen the duration of the proceeding, such as ensuring participation was not unduly repetitive?

(f)           The funding day calculation for funding in accordance with sections 4.1 and 4.2, if one is provided.

(g)          Any other matters which the BCUC determines appropriate in the circumstances.

3.0       PACA applications

Pursuant to Section 14.1.2 of the PACA Guidelines, BCUC staff provided responses to intervener PACA budget estimates. The total number of funding days required for full participation in the proceeding was estimated at 3.5 days, resulting from one round of information requests (IRs), as well as final written arguments.

 

BC Hydro was provided with copies of PACA applications as submitted by interveners pursuant to Section 14.2.4 of the PACA Guidelines. In its reply dated March 24, 2020, BC Hydro stated that “leaves it to the Commission as to the level of cost awards to be made.”[1]

 

The below table summarizes the number of PACA funding days requested by each intervener in the PACA application.

 

3.1       AMPC

AMPC’s membership is comprised of industrial companies operating across British Columbia, including pulp and paper, forestry, mining, and petro-chemical operators, and representing a majority of BC Hydro’s industrial electricity load. In this proceeding, AMPC requests a cost award of $17,220.

 

In AMPC’s PACA application, the amount of funding days sought by AMPC for legal services (4.5) exceeds BCUC staff’s estimated 3.5 funding days required for full participation in this proceeding by 1.0 day, while the 1.5 funding days sought for consulting services are within the estimated number of funding days.

 

BCUC Determination

With respect to AMPC’s PACA application, the Panel considers the criteria in the PACA Guidelines and acknowledges that AMPC contributed to a better understanding of the issues raised in this proceeding. While the 4.5 funding days sought for legal services exceeds BCUC staff’s estimate, the Panel notes that this estimate is not binding on the Panel and does not find this request to be excessive. The Panel also notes that the 1.5 funding days for consulting services is within the funding day estimate and, in consideration of the PACA Guidelines, the Panel finds that AMPC’s total PACA costs are fair and reasonable.   

 

For these reasons, the Panel awards AMPC the full award of $17,220.00 inclusive of applicable taxes

as applied for its participation in this proceeding.

3.2       CEABC

CEABC membership is comprised of independent power producers (IPPs) that sell, or wish to sell, electricity to BC Hydro, and suppliers and consultants that provide services to these IPPs.

 

Pursuant to Section 14.1.1 of the PACA Guidelines, CEABC submitted a PACA budget with an estimated cost award of $39,564.00. Pursuant to Section 14.1.3 of the Guidelines, BCUC staff provided a response to CEABC’s PACA budget and provided an estimate of funding days and the criteria used to determine PACA awards as set out in Sections 4.2 and 4.3 of the PACA Guidelines. While not binding, BCUC staff also informed CEABC that, in BCUC staff’s opinion, a portion of CEABC’s budget estimate may not be granted in full as the number of funding days budgeted for each of legal and consulting services exceeded staff’s estimate for the proceeding.

 

In CEABC’s PACA application, the amount of funding days sought by CEABC totals 15.0 days. Funding days for legal services (9.0) exceeds staff’s expected number of funding days required for full participation in this proceeding by 5.5 days, while funding days sought for consulting services (6.0) exceeds the staff’s expected number of funding days by 2.5 days.

 

BCUC Determination

The Panel notes that CEABC actively participated in the proceeding and raised matters relevant to a better understating of the issues in the proceeding. The Panel, however, is of the view that CEABC’s participation and contribution in the proceeding was in line with, and not above the participation and contributions of other interveners. While the Panel acknowledges that funding day estimates are not binding, the Panel notes that both the individual funding days for legal and consulting services and the 15.0 funding days total sought by CEABC are significantly higher than BCUC staff’s funding day estimate.

 

In addition, the Panel observes that CEABC’s requested funding days attributed to legal and consulting services, as a total, are significantly higher that the funding days sought by other interveners. The Panel observes that funding days claimed by CEABC are twice the amount of the next highest request for legal services, and three times the amount of the next highest request for consulting services, respectively. In the Panel’s view, however, CEABC’s contribution to the proceeding did not exceed the contribution made by any other intervener.

 

In consideration of the PACA Guidelines, whether the participant has contributed to a better understanding of the issues raised in the proceeding and whether the costs incurred are fair and reasonable, the Panel finds the number of funding days sought by CEABC is excessive and a downwards adjustment to CEABC’s award is warranted.  

To align CEABC’s PACA award within the range of the PACA requests made by other interveners, the Panel looks to the funding days for both legal and consulting services requested by the other interveners. The below table compares intervener funding day requests.

 

Intervener Funding Day Request Comparison

 

The Panel notes that for legal services, the next highest number of funding days is attributed to AMPC at 4.5 days and for consulting services, this is attributed to CEC, at 2.0 days. The Panel therefore finds it appropriate to make a reduction to CEABC’s PACA award that sets CEABC’s funding days at 4.5 for legal services at 2.0 for consulting services, at the applicable daily rates.

 

CEABC PACA Summary vs Adjusted PACA Award

 

Pursuant to the PACA Guidelines and for the reasons stated above, the Panel awards CEABC a cost award of $17,892.00, inclusive of applicable taxes. The award aligns CEABC’s contribution towards the higher end of the range of PACA requests made by other interveners, while recognizing their contributions towards the issues relevant in this proceeding.

3.3       CEC and BCOAPO

CEC represents the interests of commercial ratepayers who are or may be potentially affected in the future by the results of a proceeding. In this proceeding, CEC requests a cost award of $6,088.01.

 

BCOAPO’s interest in this proceeding stem from its members, a group of community organizations that work for and represent the interests of low and fixed income residents of B.C. In this proceeding, BCOAPO requests a cost award of $10,226.67.

 

BCUC Determination

In its consideration of the PACA Guidelines, the Panel finds that CEC and BCOAPO contributed to a better understanding of the issues raised in this proceeding. The Panel notes that each intervener actively participated in the proceeding and that the number of days claimed for both legal and consulting services is within BCUC staff’s expectation of funding days for this proceeding.

 

For these reasons, the Panel awards CEC and BCOAPO the full amounts of $6,088.01 and $10,226.67 inclusive of applicable taxes and disbursements, respectively, as applied for in their respective PACA applications for their participation in this proceeding.