Orders

 

ORDER NUMBER

F-5-24

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

Pacific Northern Gas Ltd.

2023–2024 Revenue Requirements Application

for the PNG-West Division

Participant Cost Award Application

 

BEFORE:

C. M. Brewer, Panel Chair

T. A. Loski, Commissioner

 

on January 26, 2024

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On November 30, 2022, Pacific Northern Gas Ltd. (PNG) filed its 2023–2024 Revenue Requirements Application (RRA) with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for its West division (PNG-West) pursuant to sections 58 to 61, 89 and 90 of the Utilities Commission Act (Original Application);

B.      By Orders G-374-22, G-103-23, G-125-23, and G-179-23, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable for the proceeding, which included intervener registration, filing an amended application, two rounds of information requests (IRs) to PNG, responses to IRs, status updates, and final and reply arguments;

C.      British Columbia Old Age Pensioners’ Organization, Active Support Against Poverty, Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of BC, Disability Alliance BC, and Tenant Resource and Advisory Center, known collectively as BCOAPO et al. (BCOAPO) and Residential Consumer Intervener Association (RCIA) participated as interveners in the proceeding;

D.      On February 28, 2023, PNG filed its amended application for approval of, among other things, 2023 and 2024 delivery rates on a permanent basis;

E.       On July 21, 2023, PNG filed an evidentiary update to its RRA along with an updated application for approval of, among other things, revised 2023 and 2024 delivery rates on a permanent basis;

F.       By Order G-339-23 and the decision issued concurrently dated December 11, 2023, the BCUC approved, among other things, PNG’s basic charges, delivery rates and Revenue Stabilization Adjustment Mechanism rate rider on a permanent basis for PNG-West, effective January 1, 2023;

 

G.      RCIA and BCOAPO filed Participant Cost Award (PCA) applications with the BCUC with respect to their participation in the proceeding as follows:

 

H.      By emails dated December 29, 2023 and January 14, 2024, PNG provided its comments on the PCA applications, stating that it finds the fees to be fair and reasonable; and

I.         The BCUC has reviewed the PCA applications in accordance with the criteria and rates set out in the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure for Participant Cost Awards, attached to BCUC Order G-72-23. The BCUC concludes that the cost awards should be adjusted to exclude costs for the decision review claimed by both RCIA and BCOAPO, as it does not contribute to a better understanding of the issues in the proceeding as set out in Rule 36.01(c)(i) of the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure.

 

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

 

1.       Funding is awarded to the following interveners in the listed amounts below for their participation in the PNG-West 2023–2024 RRA proceeding:

2.       PNG is directed to reimburse the above-noted interveners for the awarded amounts in a timely manner.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this              26^th              day of January 2024.

 

BY ORDER

 

Original signed by:

 

C. M. Brewer

Commissioner