ORDER NUMBER
G-181-25
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
FortisBC Energy Inc.
RNG Blend Service, Storage and Transportation RNG Rider, and RNG Charges for the
Mainland and Vancouver Island, and the Fort Nelson Service Areas Effective July 1, 2025
BEFORE:
E. A. Brown, Commissioner
E. B. Lockhart, Commissioner
B. A. Magnan, Commissioner
W. E. Royle, Commissioner
on July 24, 2025
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On June 10, 2025, FortisBC Energy Inc. (FEI) applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) for approval to set the Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) Blend Percent, Storage and Transportation (S&T) RNG Rider, and RNG Charges effective July 1, 2025 (Application);
B. By Decision and Order G-77-24 dated March 20, 2024, the BCUC directed FEI, among other things, to set the S&T RNG Rider and RNG Charge annually;
C. By Order G-325-24A dated December 6, 2024, the BCUC approved, among other things, the RNG Blend percent at 2 percent, the S&T RNG Rider at $0.301 per gigajoule (GJ), and various RNG Charges, effective January 1, 2025;
D. In the Application, FEI seeks approval of the following, effective July 1, 2025:
i. to set the RNG Blend at 3 percent, resulting in an RNG volume of 5,216 terajoules (TJ) that FEI plans to deliver through the RNG Blend Service, commencing July 1, 2025;
ii. to deliver, on a forecast basis, 1,746 TJ of RNG to Voluntary RNG customers from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026;
iii. to set the S&T RNG Rider (Rider 8) at $0.692 per GJ;
iv. to set the RNG Charge for the RNG offerings in certain rate schedules under the Voluntary RNG program as follows:
o Rate Schedules 3VRNG and 5VRNG at $21.637 per GJ;
o Rate Schedule 11RNG at $22.329 per GJ; and
o Rate Schedule 46 for Natural Gas Vehicle (NGV) at $21.637 per GJ.
v. to hold the commercially sensitive information related to FEI’s renewable gas supply acquisition volume and price contained in Appendix A of the Application confidential in perpetuity;
E. In the Application, FEI states the total annual bill impact for an average residential customer with an annual consumption of 90 GJ would increase by approximately $33, or 2.9 percent, if all other charges remain unchanged;
F. By Order G-141-25 dated June 12, 2025, the BCUC approved the above-noted rates on an interim and refundable/recoverable basis pending the BCUC’s final determinations; and
G. The BCUC has reviewed the Application and considers that the following determinations are warranted.
NOW THEREFORE pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the UCA, the BCUC orders as follows:
1. FEI is approved to set the RNG Blend percent at 3 percent and to deliver, on a forecast basis, 5,216 TJ of RNG through the RNG Blend Service, effective July 1, 2025.
2. FEI is approved to deliver, on a forecast basis, 1,746 TJ of RNG to Voluntary RNG customers from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
3. FEI is approved to set the S&T RNG Rider (Rider 8) at $0.692 per GJ on a permanent basis, effective July 1, 2025.
4. FEI is approved to set the RNG Charge on a permanent basis, as set out below, effective July 1, 2025:
a. Rate Schedules 3VRNG and 5VRNG at $21.637 per GJ;
b. Rate Schedule 11RNG at $22.329 per GJ; and
c. Rate Schedule 46 for NGV at $21.637 per GJ.
5. FEI is directed to file revised tariff pages reflecting the permanent approvals in Directives 3 and 4 above for BCUC endorsement within 30 days of the date of this order.
6. The BCUC will hold confidential the information in Appendix A of the Application as it contains commercially sensitive information, unless the BCUC determines otherwise.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 24th day of July 2025.
BY ORDER
Electronically signed by Wendy Royle
W. E. Royle
Commissioner