ORDER NUMBER

G-8-25

 

IN THE MATTER OF

the Utilities Commission Act, RSBC 1996, Chapter 473

 

and

 

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the

West End Substation Project

 

BEFORE:

E. B. Lockhart, Panel Chair

E. A. Brown, Commissioner

A. C. Dennier, Commissioner

T. A. Loski, Commissioner

 

on January 19, 2026

 

ORDER

WHEREAS:

 

A.      On November 10, 2025, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) filed an initial application (Initial Application) with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) requesting that the BCUC establish a regulatory timetable to review BC Hydro’s upcoming application (Application) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act, for the West End Substation Project (Project);

B.      The Project consists of the construction of a new underground substation located at the Lord Roberts Annex property at 1150 Nelson Street in Vancouver, and has an estimated capital cost range of $756 million to $1.391 billion;

C.      By Order G-278-25, dated November 28, 2025, the BCUC established a regulatory timetable to review the Application, including, among other things, intervener registration and one round of BCUC and intervener information requests (IRs);

D.      In the Initial Application, BC Hydro proposed to file the Application in three successive stages. On December 16, 2025, BC Hydro filed its Stage 1 Application;

E.       By January 8, 2026, the following parties filed requests to intervene:

•         BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA);

•         Commercial Energy Consumers Association of BC (the CEC);

•         Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of BC, Active Support Against Poverty, Disability Alliance BC, Tenants Resource and Advisory Centre, and Together Against Poverty Society (COSCO);

•         Residential Consumer Intervener Association (RCIA); and

•         Strata Plan VR1313 The Greenhorn, Vancouver, BC (The Greenhorn Strata); and

F.       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: BCSEA, the CEC, COSCO, RCIA and The Greenhorn Strata.

2.       The CEC, COSCO and RCIA are directed to participate as one intervener group, 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 BC Hydro. 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 BC Hydro.

4.       The following topics are out of scope for this proceeding:

a.       The 2018 property purchase at the Lord Roberts Annex site; and

b.       The construction and operation of the East Vancouver Substation.

 

DATED at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this      19th      day of January 2026.

 

BY ORDER

 

Electronically signed by Blair Lockhart

 

E. B. Lockhart

Commissioner

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority

Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the West End Substation Project

 

1.0              Introduction

On November 10, 2025, British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority (BC Hydro) filed an initial application (Initial Application) with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) requesting that the BCUC establish a regulatory timetable to review BC Hydro’s upcoming application (Application) for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN), pursuant to sections 45 and 46 of the Utilities Commission Act, for the West End Substation Project (Project).

 

By Order G-278-25, dated November 28, 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) and one round of BCUC and intervener information requests (IRs).

 

In the Initial Application, BC Hydro proposed to file the Application in three successive stages. On December 16, 2025, BC Hydro filed its Stage 1 Application.

 

By January 8, 2026, the following parties filed requests to intervene:

•         BC Sustainable Energy Association (BCSEA);

•         Commercial Energy Consumers Association of BC (the CEC);

•         Council of Senior Citizens’ Organizations of BC, Active Support Against Poverty, Disability Alliance BC, Tenants Resource and Advisory Centre, and Together Against Poverty Society (COSCO);

•         Residential Consumer Intervener Association (RCIA); and

•         Strata Plan VR1313 The Greenhorn, Vancouver, BC (The Greenhorn Strata).

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.

 

In this decision, the Panel:

•         Makes determinations on parties’ requests for intervener status;

•         Directs certain parties to participate as one intervener group; and

•         Provides details about the scoping of the review of the Application.

2.0              Intervener Acceptance and Collaboration

The Panel accepts the following parties as interveners in this proceeding, subject to the requirements regarding participation outlined below: BCSEA, the CEC, COSCO, RCIA and The Greenhorn Strata.

 

The Panel notes that there are commonalities between the issues that certain parties indicate they intend to address in the proceeding. To avoid duplication of effort and the associated increase in costs and regulatory burden, the Panel determines that requiring certain interveners to collaborate is warranted.

 

The requests to intervene submitted by CEC, COSCO and RCIA indicate that they represent the interests of commercial, the economically vulnerable, and residential ratepayers, respectively. Each also indicates their intention to generally address issues related to the need for the Project, the assessment of alternatives, Project costs and risks. The Panel considers that the ratepayer groups represented by these organizations will be impacted in similar ways by the Project. Accordingly, the Panel considers it appropriate for these three interveners to work together as a single group. Therefore, pursuant to Rule 10.03, the Panel directs the CEC, COSCO and RCIA to participate as one intervener group, and to file all submissions jointly.

3.0              Scope of the Proceeding

To promote regulatory efficiency, interveners are limited to a maximum of 30 questions each, inclusive of sub-questions, for Intervener IR No. 1 to BC Hydro. 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 BC Hydro.

 

In addition, for the reasons that follow the Panel directs that the following topics are out of scope for this proceeding:

a.       The 2018 property purchase at the Lord Roberts Annex site; and

b.      The construction and operation of the East Vancouver Substation.

 

In the Application, BC Hydro states that in June 2018 it acquired the subsurface volumetric air space parcel and associated property rights at the Lord Roberts Annex site from the Vancouver School Board. BC Hydro further notes that pursuant to Order G-246-20, the purchase of land at the Lord Roberts Annex for the West End Substation was approved as an addition into BC Hydro’s rate base and that the property acquisition is not part of the Project scope for which BC Hydro is seeking approval in the Application.[1] Given these circumstances, the Panel considers it appropriate to direct that the 2018 property purchase at the Lord Roberts Annex site is outside the scope of this proceeding.

 

BC Hydro also states in the Application that it plans to construct a new substation located in the Strathcona neighbourhood of the City of Vancouver (East Vancouver Substation) to replace Murrin Substation. BC Hydro states that the East Vancouver Substation is exempt from the requirement to have a CPCN pursuant to the British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority Exemption Regulation and therefore BC Hydro will be relying on its deemed CPCN for extensions under section 45 of the Utilities Commission Act for the construction and operation of the East Vancouver Substation.[2] Given these circumstances, the Panel considers it appropriate to direct that the construction and operation of the East Vancouver Substation is outside of the scope of this proceeding.

 

 

Dated at the City of Vancouver, in the Province of British Columbia, this    19^th    day of January 2026.

 

 

Electronically signed by Blair Lockhart

_________________________________

E. B. Lockhart

Panel Chair/Commissioner

 

 

 

Electronically signed by Elizabeth (Lisa) Brown

_________________________________

E. A. Brown

Commissioner

 

 

 

Electronically signed by Ana Dennier

_________________________________

A. C. Dennier

Commissioner

 

 

 

Electronically signed by Tom Loski

_________________________________

T. A. Loski

Commissioner