Orders

 

ORDER NUMBER

F-46-23

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw Limited Partnership

Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

for the Sen̓áḵw District Energy System

Participant Cost Award Application

 

 

BEFORE:

C. M. Brewer, Panel Chair

A. K. Fung, KC, Commissioner

E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner

 

on December 12, 2023

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On October 20, 2022, Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw Limited Partnership (CESLP) applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to construct, own and operate a thermal energy system to provide heating and cooling to the Senáḵw development, which is on Sen̓áḵw Lands (Application);

B.      The proposed thermal energy system is a low carbon electrified energy system that provides cooling to the Senáḵw development with electric chillers, and provides heating with captured waste heat from the cooling equipment and reclaimed heat from a Metro Vancouver main sewer line using high-temperature heat pumps. Electric boilers, thermal storage and natural gas boilers will be in place to provide peaking and backup to the heat recovery processes (Sen̓áḵw DES);

C.      By Order G-346-22 dated November 30, 2022, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable for the review of the Application. The review of the Application proceeded by way of three rounds of BCUC and intervener information requests, submissions on further process, and final and reply arguments;

D.      The Residential Consumer Intervener Association (RCIA) registered as the sole intervener in the proceeding;

E.       By Order C-5-23 dated October 26, 2023, the BCUC granted a CPCN to CESLP authorizing the construction and operation of the Sen̓áḵw DES to provide space heating, space cooling and domestic hot water to phases 1 and 2 of the Sen̓áḵw development;

F.       The BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure, which are attached to Order G-72-23, set out rules for Participant Cost Awards in Part VI. Rule 35.01 states that any application by a participant for a cost award must be filed with the BCUC no later than 5 business days following the issuance of the final decision or report in a proceeding, unless the BCUC permits otherwise;

G.      On November 6, 2023, RCIA filed a Participant Cost Award (PCA) application with the BCUC with respect to its participation in the proceeding seeking the following amount:

 

H.      In its November 6, 2023 filing, RCIA acknowledges that its PCA application was filed after the deadline established by Rule 35.01 due to a delay in receiving documentation from one of its consultants;

I.         By email dated November 16, 2023, the BCUC provided CESLP with a copy of RCIA’s PCA application and requested any comments be filed by November 30, 2023. No comments were received from CESLP; and

J.        The BCUC has reviewed RCIA’s PCA application in accordance with the criteria and rates set out in the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure for Participant Cost Awards. The BCUC considers that RCIA’s PCA application was filed 2 business days after the deadline set out by Rule 35.01. However, the BCUC accepts RCIA’s explanation for the delay in filing of its PCA application and determines that in the circumstances, the cost award as applied for should be approved nonetheless. RCIA is reminded to submit PCA applications in accordance with the Rules established for participant cost awards.

NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 118(1) of the UCA, the BCUC orders as follows:

 

1.       Funding is awarded to RCIA in the amount listed below for its participation in the proceeding:

 

2.       CESLP is directed to reimburse RCIA for the awarded amount in a timely manner.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this         12^th           day of December 2023.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original signed by:

 

C. M. Brewer

Commissioner