Orders

 

ORDER NUMBER

G-324-24

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

FortisBC Energy Inc.

Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

for the Tilbury Liquefied Natural Gas Storage Expansion Project

 

BEFORE:

A. K. Fung, KC, Panel Chair

T. A. Loski, Commissioner

A. C. Dennier, Commissioner

 

on December 4, 2024

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On December 29, 2020, FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) for the approval of a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the Tilbury Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Storage Expansion (TLSE) Project (Application);

B.      FEI also requests the following related financial approvals pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the UCA:

•         A depreciation rate of 1.67 percent and a net salvage rate of 0.67 percent applicable to the new 3 Bcf LNG tank;

•         A new non-rate base deferral account: the “TLSE Application and Preliminary Stage Development Costs” deferral account; and

•         A deferral account, the “TLSE FX Mark to Market deferral account”, to capture the mark-to-market valuation of any foreign currency forward contracts entered into related to construction of the TLSE Project;

C.      By Orders G-26-21, G-165-21, G-9-22, G-29-22, G-58-22, G-100-22, G-113-22, G-117-22, G-132-22, G-208-22, G-223-22, and G-267-22, respectively, the BCUC established and amended regulatory timetable for the review of the Application. The regulatory process included: a workshop; an in-camera technical session to address the confidentiality of security sensitive information in the Application; two rounds of written information requests (IRs); filing of intervener evidence, rebuttal evidence, and IRs on the same; one round of Panel IRs; a further round of written IRs regarding the signing of the Tilbury LNG Projects Agreement by the Musqueam Indian Band and FortisBC Holdings Inc.; and written final arguments by FEI and interveners, and reply argument by FEI;

D.      The following parties registered as interveners in this proceeding:

•         British Columbia Old Age Pensioners’ Organization et al. (BCOAPO);

•         BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA);

•         Citizens for My Sea to Sky Society (MS2S);

•         Commercial Energy Consumers Association of British Columbia (the CEC);

•         Musqueam Indian Band (Musqueam);

•         Residential Consumer Intervener Association (RCIA);

•         Sentinel Energy Management Inc. (Sentinel Energy); and

•         Tsleil-Waututh Nation (TWN);

E.       By Order G-62-23 dated March 23, 2023, the BCUC adjourned the proceeding and invited FEI to file a resiliency plan and additional evidence described in Order G-62-23;

F.       On October 24, 2024, FEI filed a resiliency plan (2024 Resiliency Plan) and additional evidence (Supplemental Evidence);

G.      FEI requests that certain information contained within the 2024 Resiliency Plan and the Supplemental Evidence be held confidential by the BCUC in perpetuity, pursuant to Section 18 of the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure established by Order G-296-24. Specifically, FEI requests the following:

•         Appendices D, E, G, I, J and K to the Supplemental Evidence relating to engineering and cost estimate matters be held confidential due to the operationally sensitive and commercially sensitive nature of the information;

•         Redacted information in the 2024 Resiliency Plan and associated Appendices RP 1, RP 2, and RP 4 relating to specific details of FEI’s gas system assessed vulnerabilities be held confidential on a restricted basis due to the highly sensitive security related information and that it be available only to the BCUC; and

•         Redacted information in the 2024 Resiliency Plan relating to FEI’s gas supply portfolio be held confidential on a restricted basis and be available only to the BCUC due to the commercially sensitive nature of the information.

H.      The BCUC has commenced review of the Supplemental Evidence and 2024 Resiliency Plan and considers that the resumption of this proceeding and the establishment of a regulatory timetable for the continuation of review of the Application are warranted.

 

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

 

1.       A further regulatory timetable is established in accordance with the regulatory timetable as set out in Appendix A to this order.

2.       Registered interveners are requested to confirm in writing their continued participation in the proceeding by Friday, January 3, 2025. Any party that fails to confirm its participation by this date will no longer be considered to hold intervener status in this proceeding.

3.       Participant cost awards for the remainder of this proceeding shall be limited to those registered interveners that have provided written confirmation of their continued participation and will be reviewed by the BCUC in accordance with the criteria and rates set out in its Rules of Practice and Procedure established by Order G-296-24.

4.       Registered interveners may submit comments in response to FEI’s request that certain information be held confidential by the BCUC in perpetuity, including information that is requested to be held confidential and available only to the BCUC, pursuant to the regulatory timetable set out in Appendix A to this order.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this      4^th       day of December 2024.

 

BY ORDER

 

Electronically signed by Anna Fung

 

A. K. Fung, KC

Commissioner

 

 

Attachment

FortisBC Energy Inc.

Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity

for the Tilbury Liquefied Natural Gas Storage Expansion Project