Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-223-20

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

FortisBC Inc.

Application for Approval of Rate Design and Rates

for Electric Vehicle Direct Current Fast Charging Service

 

BEFORE:

D. M. Morton, Panel Chair/Commissioner

A. K. Fung, QC, Commissioner

 

on August 28, 2020

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On December 22, 2017, FortisBC Inc. (FBC) submitted an application to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for Approval of Rate Design and Rates for Electric Vehicle (EV) Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) Service (Application) pursuant to sections 59 to 61 and 90 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA);

B.      In the Application, FBC submits that as part of the Accelerate Kootenays project FBC has installed and owns five DCFC stations located along the Highway 3 corridor in Greenwood, Christina Lake, Castlegar, Salmo and Creston, British Columbia;

C.      In the Application, FBC seeks the following BCUC approvals:

                     i.      on an interim and permanent basis, a new Electric Tariff Rate Schedule 96 (RS 96) for EV charging at FBC-owned DCFC stations, a time-based rate of $9.00 per half hour charging session prorated to the second of time spent at the station; and

                   ii.      an Emissions Regulation deferral account to attract interest at FBC’s short-term interest rate to record net revenues realized from the monetization of carbon credits. The balance of the deferral account will be amortized in customers’ rates in the subsequent years’ revenue requirement;

D.      By Order G-9-18 dated January 12, 2018, the BCUC:

                     i.      approved a time-based rate of $9.00 per 30-minute period for EV charging at FBC owned DCFC stations, as set out in RS 96, on an interim basis, effective January 12, 2018;

                   ii.      directed FBC to separately track and account for all costs associated with the EV DCFC stations and exclude all such costs from its utility rate base until the BCUC directs otherwise; and

                  iii.      adjourned the review of the FBC Application until further notice.

E.       By Order G-10-18 dated January 12, 2018, the BCUC established an inquiry (Inquiry) into the regulation of EV charging service in British Columbia. The Inquiry was undertaken in two phases. Phase 1 examined the EV charging service market in general and provided recommendations for the appropriate degree of regulation of entities that are not otherwise public utilities. Phase 2 focused on the regulatory framework for existing public utilities (e.g. British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority and FBC), which were referred to as
“non-exempt public utilities”;

F.       On June 24, 2019, the BCUC issued the second and final report on the Inquiry. In that report, the Panel reviewed the role of the non-exempt public utility’s participation in the EV charging market, and made recommendations to the Provincial Government concerning the regulatory framework for these non-exempt public utilities;

G.     By Order in Council No. 339 (OIC 339/20), as approved and issued on June 22, 2020, the Lieutenant Governor in Council amended the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Clean Energy) Regulation (GGRR) to add Section 5 regarding prescribed undertaking – electric vehicle charging stations;

H.      On June 30, 2020, FBC filed a letter with the BCUC indicating that it expects to restart the regulatory review process with the filing of an evidentiary update to the Application on or before September 30, 2020;

I.        By Order G-183-20 dated July 10, 2020, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable for the review of the Application. The BCUC directed FBC to clarify whether it will be applying for review of the five DCFC stations in the Application as a prescribed undertaking under Section 5 of the GGRR, or if not, confirm the applicable provisions of the UCA pursuant to which FBC is seeking BCUC review of the Application;

J.        In its letter dated July 28, 2020, FBC confirms that the permanent approval sought for RS 96 is pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the UCA. FBC intends to provide information that the five DCFC stations noted in the Application, and any additional DCFC stations installed by FBC since the issuance date of Order G-9-18, are “eligible charging stations” as defined by the GGRR and meet the test for prescribed undertaking pursuant to OIC 339/20;

K.      By July 31, 2020, the BCUC received and granted eight parties intervener status to participate in the proceeding; and

L.       The Panel has reviewed the information on the evidentiary record and considers that amending the regulatory timetable for the review of the Application is warranted.

 

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

 

1.       The review of the FBC Application will proceed according to the regulatory timetable established in Appendix A of this order.

2.       By the date established in the regulatory timetable attached as Appendix A to this order, FBC must:

                     i.            publish the notice of the Application on its website and share the notice on its social media platforms;

                   ii.            provide notice to potentially affected EV user groups, including but not limited to: Plug In BC, Emotive, Accelerate Kootenays, Peace Energy Cooperative, Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association, and Victoria EV Club; and

                  iii.            publish the notice of the Application in print ad format in the following newspapers and any others as appropriate: the Vancouver Sun, the Kelowna Daily Courier, the Osoyoos Times, the Nelson Star, the Trail Daily Times, the Creston Valley Advance, and the Castlegar News.

3.       Parties who wish to participate as an intervener in this regulatory proceeding must register with the BCUC by completing a Request to Intervene Form, available on the BCUC’s website at http://www.bcuc.com/forms/request-to-intervene.aspx, by the date established in the regulatory timetable attached as Appendix A to this order. Parties requesting intervener status are to specifically state the nature of their interest in the Application and identify the issues that they intend to pursue and the extent of their anticipated involvement in the proceeding.

 

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this        28^th     day of August 2020.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original signed by:

 

D. M. Morton

Commissioner

 

Attachments

 

FortisBC Inc.

Application for Approval of Rate Design and Rates

for Electric Vehicle Direct Current Fast Charging Service

 

 

 

 

We want to hear from you

 

FORTISBC ELECTRIC VEHICLE DIRECT CURRENT FAST CHARGING SERVICE RATE APPLICATION   On December 22, 2017 and updated on [insert date of evidentiary update], FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC or FBC) submitted its application to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) requesting approval of its Rate Design and Rates for Electric Vehicle (EV) Direct Current Fast Charging (DCFC) Service. In its application, FBC seeks approval of a time-based rate of $9.00 per half hour charging session prorated to the second of time spent at the station for EV charging at FBC-owned DCFC stations, among other items. In January 2018, the BCUC granted interim approval of the proposed rate and adjourned the proceeding until further notice. Since the original application, the BCUC conducted an inquiry into the regulation of EV charging service in BC, which examined the regulatory framework for EV charging services, and made recommendations to the Government of BC. In June 2020, the Government of BC amended its Clean Energy Regulations to include EV charging stations as prescribed undertakings for public utilities, which provides direction to the BCUC on its role in reviewing these types of applications. With the updated information, the BCUC has established a regulatory timetable to restart the review of FortisBC’s application. For more information about this application, please visit: https://www.bcuc.com/ApplicationView.aspx?ApplicationId=611.

 

HOW TO PARTICIPATE	IMPORTANT DATES
Submit a letter of comment	Friday, October 16, 2020 – Deadline to register as an intervener with the BCUC
Request intervener status
For more information on getting involved, please visit our website (www.bcuc.com/get-involved) or contact us at the information below.

GET MORE INFORMATION

 

FortisBC Inc.		British Columbia Utilities Commission
	Suite 100, 1975 Springfield Road Kelowna, BC, V1Y 7V7		Suite 410, 900 Howe Street Vancouver, BC Canada  V6Z 2N3
	electricity.regulatory.affairs@fortisbc.com		E: Commission.Secretary@bcuc.com
	604.592.7664		P: 604.660.4700