ORDER NUMBER
E-28-20
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
FortisBC Energy Inc.
Filing of a Biomethane Purchase Agreement
between FortisBC Energy Inc. and Walker RNG Inc.
BEFORE:
T. A. Loski, Panel Chair
E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner
R. I. Mason, Commissioner
on December 4, 2020
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On November 12, 2020, pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) and the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) Rules for Natural Gas Energy Supply Contracts (Rules), FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) applied to the BCUC seeking acceptance of a Biomethane Purchase Agreement (BPA) between FEI and Walker RNG Inc. (Walker) (Application);
B. Section 18(1) of the Clean Energy Act (CEA) defines a prescribed undertaking as “...a project, program, contract or expenditure that is in a class of projects, programs, contracts or expenditures prescribed for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia.”;
C. Section 18(3) of the CEA states that “the commission must not exercise a power under the UCA in a way that would directly or indirectly prevent a public utility... from carrying out a prescribed undertaking.”;
D. Section 2(3.8) of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Regulation (GGRR) states that the acquisition of renewable natural gas (RNG) is a prescribed undertaking subject to:
a) the public utility paying no more than $30/GJ; and
b) the total volume of RNG purchased in a calendar year does not exceed 5% of the total volume of natural gas provided by public utility to its non-bypass customers in 2015;
E. Under the BPA, Walker will supply RNG, in the form of biomethane, processed at its anaerobic digestion facility located in Aylmer, Ontario. The finished biomethane will be notionally delivered to FEI at the Huntingdon interconnection point in BC with an anticipated operational start date of September 1, 2021. The facility will be owned and operated by Walker;
F. The BCUC has not reviewed the Application from a public interest perspective as the BPA is a prescribed undertaking under section 18(1) of the CEA;
G. FEI requests that the redacted portions of the Application and certain appendices be kept confidential due to their commercially sensitive nature; and
H. The BCUC has reviewed the Application and considers the following determinations are warranted.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 71 of the UCA, the Rules, section 18 of the CEA and the GGRR, the BCUC orders as follows:
1. The BCUC accepts for filing the BPA between FEI and Walker.
2. The BCUC will keep the redacted portions of the Application and certain appendices confidential as requested by FEI as they contain commercially sensitive information.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 4th day of December 2020.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
T. A. Loski
Commissioner