ORDER NUMBER
G-7-26
IN THE MATTER OF
the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473
and
Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw Limited Partnership
Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw 2026-2027 Rates and Rate Design
BEFORE:
T. A. Loski, Panel Chair
E. A. Brown, Commissioner
on January 19, 2026
ORDER
WHEREAS:
A. On December 2, 2025, Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw Limited Partnership (CESLP) applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act for approval of, among other things, the proposed rates and rate design to provide thermal energy services from the Sen̓áḵw Thermal Energy System from March 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 (Application);
B. By Order G-301-25 dated December 15, 2025, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable to review the Application, including, among other things, a deadline for parties to submit a request to intervene in accordance with the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules), a deadline for the BCUC to issue a decision on intervener registrations and instructions on proceeding scope, and a deadline for Intervener Information Request (IR) No. 1;
C. By January 8, 2026, the following parties filed requests to intervene:
• Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of BC, Active Support Against Poverty, Disability Alliance BC, and Tenants Resource and Advisory Centre (COSCO);
• Residential Consumer Intervener Association (RCIA);
• Commercial Energy Consumers of BC (the CEC); and
D. The BCUC has reviewed the requests to intervene and finds the following determinations are warranted.
NOW THEREFORE for the reasons outlined in the decision accompanying this order, the BCUC orders as follows:
1. The following parties are accepted as interveners: COSCO, RCIA, and the CEC.
2. COSCO and RCIA are directed to participate as one intervener group (COSCO-RCIA), and to file all submissions jointly.
3. Interveners are limited to a maximum of 30 questions each, inclusive of sub-questions, for Intervener IR
No. 1 to CESLP. Interveners grouped together as one intervener group for this proceeding are limited to a maximum of 30 questions, collectively amongst the group, inclusive of sub-questions, for Intervener IR No. 1 to CESLP.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 19th day of January 2026.
BY ORDER
Electronically signed by Tom Loski
T. A. Loski
Commissioner
Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw Limited Partnership
Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw 2026-2027 Rates and Rate Design
DECISION
Introduction
On December 2, 2025, Creative Energy Sen̓áḵw Limited Partnership (CESLP) applied to the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act for approval of, among other things, the proposed rates and rate design to provide thermal energy services from the Sen̓áḵw Thermal Energy System from March 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 (Application).
On December 15, 2025, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable[1] to review the Application, including, among other things, a deadline for parties to submit a request to intervene in accordance with the BCUC’s Rules of Practice and Procedure (Rules),[2] a deadline for the BCUC to issue a decision on intervener registrations and instructions on proceeding scope, and a deadline for Intervener Information Request (IR) No. 1.
In accordance with the regulatory timetable, the following parties filed requests to intervene:
• Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of BC, Active Support Against Poverty, Disability Alliance BC, and Tenants Resource and Advisory Centre (COSCO);
• Residential Consumer Intervener Association (RCIA); and
• Commercial Energy Consumers of BC (the CEC).
Rule 9.04 states that persons requesting intervener status must demonstrate to the satisfaction of the BCUC that they are directly or sufficiently affected by the BCUC’s decision.
Rules 9.07 and 9.08 state that the BCUC may grant intervener status subject to conditions it considers appropriate and may determine the scope of an intervener’s participation considering, for example, the person’s interests, and the nature, importance and breadth of issues the person plans to address.
Rules 10.02 and 10.03 state that interveners are expected to take reasonable efforts to avoid the duplication of evidence and that the BCUC may require an intervener to coordinate with other interveners who represent substantially similar interests.
Intervener Registrations and Proceeding Scope
Subject to the requirements regarding participation outlined below, the following parties are accepted as interveners in this proceeding: COSCO, RCIA, and the CEC.
Pursuant to Rule 10.03, COSCO and RCIA are directed to participate as one intervener group (COSCO-RCIA), and to file all submissions jointly. The Panel notes that there are commonalities between the issues that both organizations indicated in their request to intervene that they intend to address in this proceeding. In particular, COSCO and RCIA both state they represent the interests of residential ratepayers with respect to the proposed rates for the Sen̓áḵw Thermal Energy System. As such, the Panel finds it appropriate to combine the two parties into one intervener group.
For increased regulatory efficiency, the Panel reminds interveners of Rule 10.02 and requests that COSCO-RCIA and the CEC coordinate their participation in this proceeding to avoid the duplication of evidence.
In addition, pursuant to Rules 9.07 and 9.08, the Panel orders that interveners are limited to a maximum of 30 questions each, inclusive of sub-questions, for Intervener IR No. 1 to CESLP. Interveners grouped together as one intervener group for this proceeding are limited to a maximum of 30 questions, collectively amongst the group, inclusive of sub-questions, for Intervener IR No. 1 to CESLP.
DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this 19th day of January 2026.
Electronically signed by Tom Loski
_________________________________
T. A. Loski
Panel Chair/Commissioner
Electronically signed by Elizabeth (Lisa) Brown
_________________________________
E. A. Brown
Commissioner