Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-332-22A

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

Nelson Hydro

2023 Revenue Requirement Application

 

BEFORE:

E.B. Lockhart, Panel Chair

A.C. Dennier, Commissioner

T.A. Loski, Commissioner

 

on December 2, 2022

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On October 28, 2022, Nelson Hydro filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) seeking approval of a general annual rate increase of 9.87 percent for the Rural service area, effective on January 1, 2023, pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) (Application);

B.      Nelson Hydro is owned and operated by the City of Nelson and is excluded from regulation under the UCA to the extent it is serving customers within its municipal boundaries. Accordingly, the BCUC’s review of the Application pertains solely to Nelson Hydro’s non-municipal, or rural, ratepayers;

C.      In the Application, Nelson Hydro requests that the 9.87 percent general rate increase for the Rural service area be approved on an interim and refundable basis, effective January 1, 2023, pending the outcome of this proceeding;

D.      Nelson Hydro also requests approval to establish the following deferral accounts:

                     i.            A revenue variance deferral account to record additional revenues that Nelson Hydro may be entitled to between January 1, 2023 and the BCUC’s decision on the Nelson Hydro’s Application for Reconsideration and Variance of Order G-196-22 which may result in modifications to the BCUC-approved Cost of Service Analysis (COSA) that is being used in this Application.

                   ii.            A storm regulatory deferral account to smooth out the budgetary impact of major storms and other emergency outage response events, such as wildfires.

E.       Nelson Hydro submits that the proposed percentage rate increase is based on the utility’s 2023 budget figures used in a COSA that was approved in Order G-196-22 and seeks to transition to providing information focused on the Rural portion of the utility rather than the utility as a whole; and

F.       The BCUC has commenced review of the Application and considers that establishing a regulatory timetable is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

 

1.       Nelson Hydro’s requested rate increase of 9.87 percent that applies to all Rural customer classes is approved on an interim, refundable, and recoverable basis, effective January 1, 2023, pursuant to sections 59 to 61 and 89 of the UCA.

2.       A public hearing for the review of the Application is established as set out in the regulatory timetable attached as Appendix A to this order.

3.       By the dates established in the regulatory timetable in Appendix A, Nelson Hydro is directed to:

a.       Provide notice of the Application and this order to all non-municipal ratepayers and to all registered interveners who participated in the Nelson Hydro 2019 Rural Rate Application and Nelson Hydro COSA and Rate Design Application;

b.       Post a copy of this order, including the Public Notice attached as Appendix B to this order on its website; and

c.       Publish the Public Notice attached as Appendix B to this order in display-ad format, in the appropriate local news publications and on its existing social media platforms, as applicable, to provide adequate notice to the public.

d.       Provide the BCUC confirmation upon completion of its actions in Directive a, b, and c above, including the names of local news publications and social media platforms used to provide notice.

4.       In accordance with BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, parties who wish to actively participate in this proceeding must submit the Request to Intervene Form, available on the BCUC’s website at https://www.bcuc.com/GetInvolved/GetInvolvedProceeding, by the date established in the regulatory timetable.

5.       In accordance with BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, any party wishing to provide comments is invited to submit a Letter of Comment by the date established in the regulatory timetable. Letters of comment must be in the Letter of Comment Form available on the BCUC’s website at https://www.bcuc.com/Forms/LetterOfComment

 

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this          2^nd            day of December 2022.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original signed by:

 

E.B. Lockhart

Commissioner

 

Attachment

Nelson Hydro

2023 Revenue Requirement Application

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                                                                                                                                               

                                                                                                                                                               

 

NELSON HYDRO 2023 RATES APPLICATION

On October 28, 2022, Nelson Hydro filed a revenue requirements (rates) application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) seeking approval of a general rate increase of 9.87 percent for its electricity rates in its rural service area, effective January 1, 2023 (Application). The BCUC has started a public proceeding to review the Application.

 

The BCUC only has jurisdiction to review the Application related to Nelson Hydro’s non-municipal or rural service area.

 

 

 

For more information about the Application, please visit the Proceeding Webpage on bcuc.com under “Our Work – Proceedings”. To learn more about getting involved, please visit our website at https://www.bcuc.com/GetInvolved/GetInvolvedProceeding or contact us at the information below.

 

GET MORE INFORMATION
Nelson Hydro Suite 101, 310 Ward Street Nelson, BC Canada  V1L 5S4   E: dco@nelson.ca   P: 250.352.8254	British Columbia Utilities Commission Suite 410, 900 Howe Street Vancouver, BC Canada  V6Z 2N3   E: Commission.Secretary@bcuc.com   P: 604.660.4700