Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-233-21

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation

Complaint Regarding Jet Fuel Line Abandonment of Service

BEFORE:

D. M. Morton, Panel Chair

on July 30, 2021

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      By letter dated April 30, 2021, PKM Canada (Jet Fuel) Inc. (PKMJF) informed the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) that the company’s approximately 41 kilometer long pipeline used to transport aviation turbine fuel (jet fuel) from the Westridge Marine Terminal in Burnaby to the Vancouver International Airport (the Jet Fuel Line, or JFL) had been shutdown effective immediately;

B.      By letter dated May 14, 2021, PKMJF informed the BCUC of its intention to permanently discontinue service on the JFL;

C.      By letter dated May 14, 2021, the Vancouver Airport Fuel Facilities Corporation filed a complaint with the BCUC regarding the current abandonment of service of the JFL and PKMJF’s intention to permanently abandon service;

D.      By Order G-154-21, dated May 20, 2021, the BCUC issued Directive 2, as follows: “PKMJF is directed to return the JFL to service, with all necessary safety measures and regulatory approvals in place, as soon as possible, but by no later than 30 days from the issuance of this order unless PKMJF can provide evidence satisfactory to the BCUC that it is unable to do so.” The return to service deadline established in Directive 2 was subsequently amended to July 31, 2021, by Order G-188-21, dated June 18, 2021;

E.       By letter dated July 29, 2021, PKMJF requests that the BCUC (i) provide relief from the return to service deadline imposed by Order G-188-21; (ii) confirm its direction in Order G-154-21 that PKMJF “return the JFL to service, with all necessary safety measures and regulatory approvals in place, as soon as possible,” in specific consideration of the estimated cost of doing so; and (iii) confirm that the costs of compliance with Order G-154-21 will be fully recoverable through the rates charged for service on the JFL over its remaining economic life;

F.       In its letter of July 29, 2021, PKMJF provides reasons and refers to evidence submitted as to why an extension to the deadline to return the JFL to service by Order G-154-21 and Order G-188-21 is required;

G.      Subject to the terms of this Order, the directions in Order G-154-21 remain enforceable;

H.      The recovery of costs of complying with Order G-154-21 will form part of a separate proceeding, the Kinder Morgan Canada (Jet Fuel) Inc. 2019 Tariff Filing Application proceeding, which is an ongoing matter before the BCUC addressing PKMJF’s recovery of costs associated with the JFL;

I.         The evidence collection process in the proceeding, including submissions regarding a proposal by Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems Inc. that a working group be established to review and discuss the return to service options for the JFL, is not yet complete; and

J.        The BCUC has reviewed the evidence and submissions filed, to date, and is satisfied that an extension to return the JFL to service is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders that the return to service deadline in Directive 2 of Order G-154-21 and varied by Order G-188-21 is varied further and extended until September 3, 2021.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this                 30^th              day of July 2021.

BY ORDER

Original signed by :

D. M. Morton

Commissioner