Orders

ORDER NUMBER

G-235-25

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

and

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Public Electric Vehicle Charging Service Rates Year One Evaluation Report

BEFORE:

A. K. Fung, KC, Commissioner

on September 26, 2025

ORDER

WHEREAS:

A.      On August 29, 2025, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) submitted its Year One Evaluation Report on its Public Electric Vehicle Charging Service Rates to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC), in which it applied for, among other items, approval of a 5 percent increase to the fast-charging rate for its public electric vehicle (EV) charging service set out in Rate Schedule (RS) 4100, effective April 1, 2026 (Application);

B.      By Decision and Order G-67-24 dated March 13, 2024 (2024 Decision), the BCUC approved on a permanent basis energy-based rates for BC Hydro’s public EV charging service of 28.28 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for Level 2 charging and 34.34 cents per kWh for all fast-charging stations under RS 4100, before any applicable Deferral Account Rate Rider or Trade Income Rate Rider adjustments. The BCUC also approved an extended stay charge of 40 cents per minute for BC Hydro’s EV fast-charging stations;

C.      In the 2024 Decision, the BCUC directed BC Hydro to file an evaluation report by August 31, 2025, to report on, among other items, the performance of BC Hydro’s public EV charging service rates;

D.      In the Application, BC Hydro submits that a 5 percent increase to the fast-charging service rate set out in RS 4100 will restore the forecast revenue-to-cost ratio for the 10-year levelized period to approximately 100 percent. BC Hydro is not proposing any changes to the Level 2 charging rate, extended stay charge, or any other terms and conditions of RS 4100; and

E.       The BCUC has commenced its review of the Application and finds that the following determinations are warranted.

NOW THEREFORE the BCUC orders as follows:

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

2.       The scope of the proceeding is set out in Appendix B to this order.

3.       Registered interveners are limited to a maximum of 15 questions each, inclusive of sub-questions, for Intervener Information Request No. 1 to BC Hydro.

4.       On or before Thursday, October 2, 2025, BC Hydro is directed to:

(i)      Provide notice of the Application and this order on its website at http://www.bchydro.com;

(ii)    Provide a copy of this order, electronically where possible, to all registered interveners in the BC Hydro Public EV Charging Service Rates proceeding that resulted in Order G-67-24; and

(iii)   Provide notice of the Application and this order, or post the Public Notice attached as Appendix C to this order, on its existing social media platforms. Reminder posts must be published on each platform every week until Thursday, October 16, 2025.

5.       BC Hydro is directed to provide the BCUC:

(i)      By Monday, October 6, 2025, written confirmation of compliance with the public notice requirements in Directive 4 of this order, except for the social media reminder posts, including a list of social media platforms on which the notice was posted and a list of all parties notified; and

(ii)    By Monday, October 20, 2025, written confirmation of compliance with the public notice requirement in Directive 4 of this order regarding social media reminder posts.

6.       In accordance with the BCUC Rules of Practice and Procedure, parties who wish to actively participate in this proceeding must submit a Request to Intervene form, available on the Get Involved in a Proceeding section of the BCUC’s website at https://www.bcuc.com/forms/RequestToIntervene by Thursday, October 16, 2025.

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this          26^th          day of September 2025.

BY ORDER

Electronically signed by Anna Fung

A. K. Fung, KC

Commissioner

Attachments

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Public Electric Vehicle Charging Service Rates Year One Evaluation Report

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Public Electric Vehicle Charging Service Rates Year One Evaluation Report

Proceeding Scope

The scope of this proceeding is limited to the approvals sought by BC Hydro as part of an evaluation report on its public electric vehicle (EV) charging service rates (Application):

a.       Approval of a 5 percent rate increase to the fast-charging rate set out in Rate Schedule 4100, effective April 1, 2026; and

b.       Date of filing of the next evaluation report for public EV charging service rates to be no later than August 31, 2027.

Other matters that are included in the Application (e.g. Level 2 charging rates, extended stay charge, customer experience and satisfaction, charging station deployment plan, etc.), insofar as they do not directly relate to the approvals sought by BC Hydro in the Application, are not within the scope of this proceeding.

BC HYDRO EVALUATION ON PUBLIC ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING SERVICE RATES

On August 29, 2025, BC Hydro filed an application with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) for approval of a 5% increase to the fast-charging rate for its public electric vehicle (EV) charging service, effective April 1, 2026.

In March 2024, the BCUC directed BC Hydro to use energy-based rates for public EV charging and directed the utility to report on the performance of energy-based rates in an evaluation report by August 31, 2025. BC Hydro’s application includes the evaluation report and the proposed increase to the fast-charging rate.

To participate in the proceeding, please see the options below or visit www.bcuc.com/get-involved for more information.

For more information about the application, please visit the proceeding webpage on bcuc.com, under “Our Work – Proceedings”.