Patrick Wruck Commission Secretary Commission.Secretary@bcuc.com bcuc.com
Suite 410, 900 Howe Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6Z 2N3 P: 604.660.4700 TF: 1.800.663.1385 F: 604.660.1102
November 16, 2021 Sent via email Letter L-37-21
Re: Dear The British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) writes in regard to your complaint submitted on June 9, 2021 concerning FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC)’s electrical service reliability in complaint on June 22, 2021, including an overview of its challenges servicing the outages in your community, as well as providing details of the local infrastructure and the process to service outages within the system. Further, FortisBC offered two compliance reports and outlined the measures they were taking to address reliability concerns. On July 16, 2021, FortisBC further responded to your email dated June 22, 2021 and confirmed their actions of proceeding with the Right of Way (ROW) Enhancement to the 30 and 32 transmission lines to improve service reliability. When the BCUC reviews complaints customer’s concern(s) and whether the utility followed its Electric Tariff (Tariff) (UCA). As an administrative tribunal, the BCUC follows its own process for a number of procedures, including complaints. The BCUC is not a mediator of disputes; rather, it is an independent regulatory agency of the Provincial Government that operates under and administers the UCA. Based on our review of your complaint and related correspondence provided in this matter, the BCUC sees no indication that FortisBC was in contravention of its Tariff or the UCA. Review Process Pursuant to the BCUC Complaints Guidelines, the BCUC referred to FortisBC’s approved Tariff, which contains the terms and conditions of service between FortisBC and its customers to ensure that FortisBC’s actions were in accordance with the Tariff.
FortisBC Inc. – Complaint filed by (Complainants) British Columbia Utilities Commission Review
BC. FortisBC responded to your
1 , it uses the criteria of whether the utility reasonably responded to the 2 and the Utilities Commission Act
For more details about the BCUC’s complaints process, see the BCUC’s Customer Complaints Guide at: FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC), Electric Tariff. – BCUC Review 1 of 3
1 https://docs.bcuc.com/documents/Complaints/BCUC-Customer-Complaints-Guide-Feb-2017.pdf 2 File 012739 | FortisBC Inc. – Complaint filed by
Letter L-37-21 By BCUC Order G-42-21 dated February 12, 2021, the BCUC approved the current Tariff. Set through a formal BCUC proceeding, the Tariff establishes rates for residential, commercial and industrial customer classes. The terms and conditions of the Tariff are designed through a public consultation process to cover the cost of supplying electricity to customers in specific rate classes. As a public utility, FortisBC is required to strictly adhere to the Tariff in its service provisions to customers and are unable to modify the Tariff without BCUC approval. Complaint On June 9, 2021, the BCUC received a complaint stating that the existing power service is unreliable and FortisBC does not have appropriate planning for mitigating further outages in the future. Further, the Complainants stated that the existing vegetation management efforts have not reduced the number of outages. The primary concern of this complaint is around the duration of the outages which the complainants believe to be impacted by the distance crews must travel, the design of the system, and the expense of servicing multiple outages. The Complainants stated that a design upgrade would be required in order to mitigate the impacts of outages. Further, additional crews should be dispatched to the areas when high risk weather events are forecasted. Lastly, the complainants suggested that FortisBC should compensate customers who choose to purchase and maintain a generator through a rebate on electrical bills, when outages have occurred. In response to the complaint and requests from the Complainants, FortisBC stated that staffing increases for major events would result in idle crews when outages do not occur and cause an increase in customer rates and clarified that a single crew would not improve the restoration time of Transmission outages, as multiple crews are required to perform work according to FortisBC safety standards. Further, FortisBC stated that the locations of the transmission lines are difficult to patrol and access for repair, often requiring helicopter patrols, which require adequate visibility, from the Castlegar/Nelson area. FortisBC explained that the length and voltage of the distribution feeders does not offer the ability to backfeed from either of the feeders. Therefore, all repairs on the line need to be completed prior to service restoration. Regarding concerns with reliability initiatives, FortisBC stated that they made updates to the existing 30L and 32L relay settings which had significantly improved fault detection and fault locating on both lines. FortisBC also clarified that their electrical transmission lines are condition-assessed in eight-year cycles and had performed the most recent assessment of 30L and 32L in 2018 and 2021 respectively. FortisBC advised that the results from the 2021 32L condition assessment have been prioritized, with the highest priority rehabilitation and brushing work currently underway. FortisBC expects all identified 32L repairs to be completed by 2024. FortisBC advised that they continue their Vegetation Management program and ROW Enhancement project to improve ROW conditions and access on 30L to mitigate future outages. The project involves obtaining additional ROW to assist in reducing tree related outages and improve access to the difficult to reach sections of the line. Conclusion In reviewing your complaint, BCUC staff relied on section 10.1 of FortisBC’s Tariff, which states, “FortisBC will endeavour to provide a regular and uninterrupted supply of Electricity but it does not guarantee a constant supply of Electricity or the maintenance of unvaried frequency or voltage…” BCUC staff note that FortisBC addressed all the issues raised in your complaint and have explained the challenges faced in providing uninterrupted power supply in your area. Further, BCUC staff recognize FortisBC’s continuing efforts to mitigate outage time and acknowledge the utility’s pursuit of future initiatives to improve electrical reliability in this challenging terrain. Based on the BCUC’s review of your complaint and related correspondence provided in this matter, BCUC staff sees no indication that FortisBC was in contravention of its Tariff or the UCA. Accordingly, your file is now closed.
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Letter L-37-21
Given your interest in the matter, you may wish to participate in a future FortisBC proceeding. The BCUC’s application review process is a public process where members of the public are encouraged to participate by submitting letters of comments or registering as an intervener. Based on the evidence presented and reviewed in the proceeding, the BCUC then makes a determination on the application. Comments from the public form an important part of the evidentiary record used by Commissioners to make a determination in a hearing. Please visit our website to learn more about how you can stay informed and participate in the next FortisBC hearing. Office of the Ombudsperson If you have concerns about how the BCUC handled your complaint, you may wish to contact the Office of the Ombudsperson. The Office of the Ombudsperson receives enquiries and complaints about the practices and services of public agencies within its jurisdiction. Their role is to impartially investigate complaints to determine whether public agencies have acted fairly and reasonably, and whether their actions and decisions were consistent with relevant legislation, policies and procedures. If you decide to file a complaint with the Ombudsperson, they will review the BCUC’s process to ensure it was fair. Though this may not result in a different outcome for you, the office could request that the BCUC reopen its investigation. Provided is a link to the Office of the Ombudsperson’s website: https://www.bcombudsperson.ca. You can also call their office toll-free at: 1-800-567-3247. An employee at the office will be able to assist you and inform you of your options. Thank you again for contacting the BCUC. Sincerely, Original signed by: Patrick Wruck Commission Secretary
AS/db cc:
Ms. Diane Roy Vice President, Regulatory Affairs FortisBC Inc. electricity.regulatory.affairs@fortisbc.com
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