Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-251-24

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

Pacific Northern Gas (N.E.) Ltd.

Tumbler Ridge Gas Plant Rehabilitation Project Section 44.2 Expenditures

BEFORE:

E. B. Lockhart, Panel Chair

B. A. Magnan, Commissioner

on September 26, 2024

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      On August 21, 2024, pursuant to section 44.2 of the Utilities Commission Act, Pacific Northern Gas (N.E.) Ltd. (PNG(NE)) filed an application (Application) with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for acceptance of a schedule of anticipated capital expenditures for the Tumbler Ridge Gas Plant (TRGP) Rehabilitation Project (Project);

B.      The Project consists of the repairs to and replacement of certain equipment at the TRGP, a gas processing plant situated in PNG(NE)’s Tumbler Ridge service area and has an estimated capital cost of $4.92 million;

C.      PNG(NE) requests that the risk register filed as Appendix D to the Application be held confidential, pursuant to Section 18 of the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure on the basis that the document is operationally sensitive and that it is standard industry practice for pipeline and utility operators not to provide specific detailed risk information in public forums on a non-confidential basis; and

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

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

1.       A written 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.       PNG(NE) is directed to provide a copy of the Application and this order, electronically where possible, on or before Friday, October 11, 2024 to all known affected parties, including, but not limited to:

a.    all stakeholders identified in Section 5 of the Application; and

b.       interveners in the 2023 PNG(NE) Revenue Requirements, the 2022 PNG(NE) Revenue Requirements, and the PNG 2024 Consolidated Resource Plan proceedings.

3.       PNG(NE) is directed, as soon as practicable, but not later than Friday, October 11, 2024 to make the Application and this order available on its website.

4.       PNG(NE) is directed to publish the Public Notice, attached as Appendix B to this order, on all of its current social media platforms, on or before Friday, October 11, 2024. Weekly reminder posts that include the Public Notice must be published on each of these platforms until the conclusion of the intervener registration period on Tuesday, October 22, 2024.

5.       PNG(NE) is directed to provide to the BCUC, by Friday, October 18, 2024, confirmation of compliance with the notice requirements in Directives 2, 3, and 4, including a list of the parties notified pursuant to Directive 2 and confirmation of when the Public Notice in Directive 4 was posted and a list of the platforms on which the Public Notice was posted.

6.       Appendix D attached to the Application will be held confidential until the BCUC determines otherwise.

7.       In accordance with the 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 Tuesday, October 22, 2024, as established in the regulatory timetable. Parties may also submit letters of comment in this proceeding by completing a Letter of Comment Form, available on the BCUC’s website, by Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

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

BY ORDER

Original signed by:

E. B. Lockhart

Commissioner

Attachment

Pacific Northern Gas (N.E.) Ltd.

Tumbler Ridge Gas Plant Rehabilitation Project Section 44.2 Expenditures

PNGNE Tumbler Ridge Gas Plant Rehabilitation Project Section 44.2 Expenditures

On August 21, 2024, Pacific Northern Gas (N.E.) Ltd. (PNG(NE)) filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission for acceptance of a schedule of anticipated capital expenditures for the Tumbler Ridge Gas Plant (TRGP) Rehabilitation Project (Project) (Application).

The Application seeks approval for the repair or replacement of certain equipment at the TRGP, a gas processing plant situated in PNG(NE)’s Tumbler Ridge service area. The Project will occur in two phases during scheduled outages at the TRGP, and is forecast to be completed in September 2025. The Project has an estimated capital cost of approximately $4.92 million, and a rate impact of approximately $3.79/GJ for residential customers in 2026.

Please visit the Proceeding webpage on bcuc.com under “Our Work” to learn more.

Subscribe to this Proceeding on bcuc.com under “Get Involved” to receive email notifications when public documents are added to the proceeding. To participate in the proceeding, visit www.bcuc.com/get-involved.