Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-324-20

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Review of the Performance Based Regulation Report

BEFORE:

D. M. Morton, Panel Chair

A. K. Fung, QC, Commissioner

E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner

R. I. Mason, Commissioner

on December 9, 2020

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 (RRA) with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC);

B.      Directive 28 of the BCUC’s decision on the F2017-F2019 RRA directed BC Hydro to provide a report to the BCUC that discusses, among other things, the opportunities and challenges associated with the adoption of Performance Based Regulation (PBR) at BC Hydro and a possible approach to adopting PBR (PBR Report);

C.      BC Hydro provided the PBR Report as part of its F2020-F2021 RRA along with two expert reports regarding the matter as Appendices FF and GG to the F2020-F2021 RRA;

D.      On October 11, 2019, by Order G-244-19, the BCUC directed that the PBR Report will not be reviewed as part of the review of the F2020-F2021 RRA and by Order G-245-19, dated October 11, 2019, the BCUC established a proceeding for the review of the PBR Report and related materials;

E.       The BCUC established and amended the regulatory timetable for the review of the PBR Report and related materials in Orders G-246-19, G-326-19, G-70-20, and G-251-20;

F.       On November 30, 2020, in accordance with Order-G-251-20, BC Hydro filed Supplementary Evidence, along with a request that the deadline for filing responses to information requests be extended from January 4, 2021 to January 18, 2021. BC Hydro stated that the current timeline may be challenging due to resourcing and the fact that this filing includes two independent experts who may be called upon to respond to questions; and

G.      The BCUC has considered BC Hydro’s request and finds that an amendment of the regulatory timetable is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE, the BCUC orders as follows:

1.       The regulatory timetable for the proceeding is amended, as set out in Appendix A to this order.

2.       BC Hydro and registered parties are requested to provide written submissions on further process by the deadline specified in Appendix A to this order. Submissions should address whether the evidentiary record is sufficient and the proceeding should therefore proceed to a final argument phase, whether an oral hearing that includes concurrent expert testimony is necessary, or whether other regulatory processes would be suitable, and why.

3.       As part of their submissions on further process, BC Hydro and registered parties using independent experts must notify the BCUC of their expert(s)’ availability for March and April of 2021 in the event that an oral hearing is ordered.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this           9^th              day of December 2020.

BY ORDER

Original signed by:

D. M. Morton

Commissioner

Attachment

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Review of the Performance-Based Regulation Report