ORDER NUMBER
E-22-24
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
FortisBC Inc.
Energy Supply Contract between FBC and Powerex Corporation
BEFORE:
E. A. Brown, Commissioner
E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner
B. A. Magnan, Commissioner
W. E. Royle, Commissioner
on October 10, 2024
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On August 30, 2024, pursuant to section 71 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA), FortisBC Inc. (FBC) filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) an energy supply contract (Agreement) entered into between FBC and Powerex Corporation (Powerex) on July 3, 2024 to purchase wholesale market energy for the first quarter of 2025 (Filing);
B. By Order G-61-12, dated May 17, 2012, the BCUC approved the Rules for Energy Supply Contracts for Electricity (Rules). The Rules facilitate the BCUC’s review of energy supply contracts for electricity, and proposed energy supply contracts for electricity under section 71 of the UCA;
C. By Order E-10-15, dated April 27, 2015, to the extent that it is within the BCUC’s jurisdiction, the BCUC accepted the Capacity and Energy Purchase and Sale Agreement (CEPSA) between FBC and Powerex. The CEPSA is a master agreement that sets out the terms and conditions for future market transactions, regarding capacity and energy, between FBC and Powerex;
D. By Order E-19-19, dated October 24, 2019, to the extent that it is within the BCUC’s jurisdiction, the BCUC accepted the First Amending Agreement of the CEPSA;
E. By Order G-380-22, dated December 21, 2022, the BCUC accepted FBC’s 2021 Long-Term Electric Resource Plan including FBC’s 2021 Long-Term Demand-Side Management Plan (2021 LTERP);
F. By Order E-13-23, dated August 17, 2023, to the extent that it is within the BCUC’s jurisdiction, the BCUC accepted the Second Amending Agreement of the CEPSA;
G. By Letter L-11-24, dated May 9, 2024, the BCUC accepted for filing FBC’s Annual Electric Contracting Plan for the period from October 1, 2024 to September 30, 2025 (2024/25 AECP);
H. The Filing states that the Agreement was made pursuant to the CEPSA;
I. FBC requests that the information in the Filing and the Agreement be kept confidential in perpetuity due to their commercially sensitive nature. FBC provided notice of this Filing and a redacted version of the Agreement to interveners to the FBC Annual Review for 2024 Rates; and
J. The BCUC has reviewed the Filing and considers that acceptance of the Agreement is warranted.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to section 71 of the UCA and the Rules, the BCUC orders as follows:
1. The BCUC accepts the Agreement between FBC and Powerex as filed.
2. The BCUC will hold the unredacted versions of the Filing confidential until the BCUC determines otherwise.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 10th day of October 2024.
BY ORDER
Original signed by:
B. A. Magnan
Commissioner