Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-101-24

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Mica Unit 1 to 4 Circuit Breakers Replacement Project

BEFORE:

T. A. Loski, Panel Chair

M. Jaccard, Commissioner

on April 5, 2024

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      On March 5, 2024, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), pursuant to section 44.2(1)(b) of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA), for acceptance of a schedule of capital expenditures that BC Hydro anticipates making for implementation of the Mica Unit 1 to 4 Circuit Breakers Replacement Project (Project) (Application);

B.      BC Hydro states that the proposed capital expenditures will replace obsolete generator circuit breakers, isolated phase buses and other ancillary equipment for Units 1 to 4 at BC Hydro’s Mica Generating station, which is located north of Revelstoke, BC on the Columbia River, and expects the cost of the Project to be $177 million;

C.      BC Hydro requests that certain information in the Application be held confidential in accordance with Part IV of the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure on the basis that the information is:

•         Commercially sensitive and that significant harm or prejudice to BC Hydro’s competitive or negotiating position is reasonably expected to result if the information was made public; and

•         Security-sensitive as it contains physical and cyber-security information;

D.      The BCUC has commenced review of the Application and determines that the establishment of a public hearing and a regulatory timetable is warranted.

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

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

2.       The scope of Information Request No. 1 is limited to the specific topics and interveners are limited to the maximum number of information requests, as outlined in Appendix C to this order.

3.       BC Hydro is directed, as soon as practicable, but not later than Friday, April 12, 2024, to provide an electronic copy of the Application and this order to all known affected or potentially affected parties, including, but not limited to:

a.       all First Nations and Indigenous communities identified in the Application; and

b.       all stakeholders identified in the Application.

4.       BC Hydro is directed, as soon as practicable, but not later than Friday, April 12, 2024, to make the Application and this order available on its website.

5.       BC Hydro is directed, as soon as practicable, but not later than Friday, April 12, 2024, to publish notice of the Application, or post the Public Notice attached as Appendix B to this order, on its existing social media platforms. Weekly reminder posts, including the Public Notice, must be published on each platform until the conclusion of the intervener registration period on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

6.       BC Hydro is directed to provide to the BCUC by Thursday, April 18, 2024, confirmation of when the public notice has been posted, including a list of the social media platforms on which the public notice was posted, as well as a list of all parties notified.

7.       In accordance with the BCUC Rules of Practice and Procedure, parties who wish to actively participate in the proceeding must complete a Request to Intervene Form, available on the Get Involved in a Proceeding section of the BCUC's website at https://www.bcuc.com/GetInvolved/GetInvolvedProceeding, by Thursday, April 25, 2024. Parties may also submit letters of comment by completing a Letter of Comment Form, available on the BCUC’s website.

8.       BC Hydro’s request for certain information to be held as confidential is granted and the information will be held confidential until the BCUC determines otherwise.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this             5^th         day of April 2024.

BY ORDER

Original signed by:

T. A. Loski

Commissioner

Attachment

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Mica Unit 1 to 4 Circuit Breakers Replacement Project

*  The scope of Information Request No. 1 is limited to the specific topics and interveners are limited to the maximum number of information requests as outlined in Appendix C to this order.

.

BRITISH COLUMBIA HYDRO AND POWER AUTHORITY

MICA UNIT 1 TO 4 CIRCUIT BREAKERS REPLACEMENT PROJECT

On March 5, 2024, the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), for acceptance of capital expenditures that BC Hydro anticipates making in respect of the Mica Unit 1 to 4 Circuit Breakers Replacement Project (Project). The Project consists of the replacement of obsolete generator circuit breakers, isolated phase buses and ancillary equipment for Mica generating Units 1 to 4. BC Hydro states that this Project is needed to ensure the continued reliability of the Mica generating station, which is located near the City of Revelstoke and supplies nearly 25% of BC Hydro’s total generating capacity. BC Hydro states that the expected cost of the Project is $177 million.

For more information about the Application, please visit the Proceeding webpage on bcuc.com under “Our Work” to learn more. To participate in the proceeding, please visit our website at www.bcuc.com/get-involved.

Subscribe to this proceeding on bcuc.com under “Get Involved” to receive email notifications when public documents are added to the proceeding.

British Columbia Power and Hydro Authority

Mica Unit 1 to 4 Circuit Breakers Replacement Project

The scope of Information Request No. 1 is limited to the specific topics outlined below:

1. Alternatives for the Unit 1 to 4 Isolated Phase Buses;
2. Project Scope;
3. Project Cost and Rate Impact Analysis; and
4. First Nations Consultation and Public Engagement.

Interveners are limited to a maximum of 30 information requests, inclusive of sub-questions.