Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-267-23

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

Powell River Energy Inc.

Status as a Public Utility

 

BEFORE:

T. A. Loski, Panel Chair

C. M. Brewer, Commissioner

 

on October 11, 2023

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      Powell River Energy Inc. (PREI), a wholly owned subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (Brookfield), owns and operates two hydroelectric generating stations, constructed in the early 1900s, with an aggregate nameplate capacity of approximately 85 megawatts, and transmission and distribution facilities (Power Facilities) located on Powell Lake and Lois Lake in Powell River;

B.      By Order G-38-23 dated February 24, 2023, as amended by Order G-120-23 dated May 18, 2023, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) established a public hearing process for the review of PREI’s status as a public utility and established a regulatory timetable directing PREI to, among other things, provide public notice of the proceeding to potentially affected parties;

C.      By Order G-161-23 with Reasons for Decision dated June 22, 2023, the BCUC amended the regulatory timetable to allow intervener registration and established further regulatory process that included a second round of BCUC information requests (IRs), and one round of Intervener IRs;

D.      By July 6, 2023, Paper Excellence Canada, The Council of Canadians – Powell River Branch, and Energy Democracy for BC (Energy Democracy) filed requests to intervene;

E.       By email dated August 15, 2023, Energy Democracy filed with the BCUC an intervener submission and a request to add the submission to the evidentiary record (Energy Democracy Evidence);

F.       By Order G-224-23 dated August 23, 2023, the BCUC amended the regulatory timetable to accept the Energy Democracy Evidence to the evidentiary record and established further regulatory process that included, among other things, one round of BCUC and PREI IRs, and PREI submission, if any, of rebuttal evidence of the Energy Democracy Evidence (Rebuttal Evidence);

G.      By letter dated September 29, 2023, PREI requested clarification on the regulatory process for the review of PREI’s status as a public utility; and

H.      The BCUC determines that an amendment to the regulatory timetable, to allow parties to submit final and reply argument as to whether PREI continues to meet the definition of a public utility as defined under section 1 of the Utilities Commission Act, is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders the regulatory timetable established by Order G-224-23 dated August 23, 2023 is amended and attached as Appendix A to this order.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this                 11^th             day of October 2023.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original signed by:

 

T. A. Loski

Commissioner

 

 

Attachment

 

 

Powell River Energy Inc.

Status as a Public Utility