ORDER NUMBER
G-372-21
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
Stargas Utilities Ltd.
Natural Gas Purchase Plan and Commodity Rate Application
Effective November 1, 2021
BEFORE:
T. A. Loski, Panel Chair
A. C. Dennier, Commissioner
A. Pape-Salmon, Commissioner
December 15, 2021
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On September 15, 2021, Stargas Utilities Ltd. (Stargas) filed an application under Section 71 and Section 61(4) of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) seeking approval of its Natural Gas Purchase Plan for the contract year from November 1, 2021, to October 31, 2022, and approval to increase the commodity rate from $5.82 per gigajoule (GJ) to $8.17 per GJ, or approximately 40 percent, effective November 1, 2021 (Application);
B. By Order G-133-21 dated May 3, 2021, the BCUC accepted Stargas’ previous Natural Gas Purchase Plan, denied Stargas’ request to amortize the Gas Cost Variance Account balance over a 12-month period (November 1, 2020 – October 31, 2021) by including $1.24 per GJ in the proposed commodity rate and approved an increase in the gas commodity rate charged to Stargas customers from $3.98 per GJ to $5.82 per GJ, effective November 1, 2020;
C. By Order G-290-21 dated October 8, 2021, the BCUC approved Stargas’ request to increase its commodity rate from $5.82/GJ to $8.17/GJ, effective November 1, 2021, on an interim, refundable or collectable basis and established a regulatory timetable for review of the Application, which included a letter of comment submission period and one round of BCUC Information Requests (IR);
D. By letter dated October 29, 2021, the BCUC issued public and confidential IR No. 1 to Stargas. By November 24, 2021, Stargas submitted its public and confidential responses to BCUC IR No. 1, as well as its responses to customer letters of comment; and
E. The BCUC has reviewed the submissions and evidence to date and determines that further regulatory process is warranted.
NOW THEREFORE the BCUC establishes a further regulatory timetable attached as Appendix A to this Order.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 15th day of December 2021.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
T. A. Loski
Commissioner
Attachment
Stargas Utilities Ltd.
Natural Gas Purchase Plan and Commodity Rate Application
REGULATORY TIMETABLE
|
Action |
Date (2022) |
|
Stargas Final Argument |
Wednesday, January 12 |