BC Utilities Commission

A strong voice for sustainability in the regulatory arena

BCSEA’s participation in BC Utilities Commission proceedings brings a voice for sustainable energy directly to the government body that approves or rejects the energy plans of BC Hydro and other energy utilities in BC. In this forum, we face powerful groups from industry, commerce and other interests, and we make sure that environmental and sustainability issues are considered in the Commission’s decisions. We also use our acquired expertise in this forum to team up with like-minded groups like the Sierra Club to participate.

In the current review of BC Hydro’s long-term plan for meeting our electricity needs for the next twenty years, BCSEA brought the expert evidence and argued forcefully to support BC Hydro’s new Power Smart conservation plans and to urge Hydro to go even further. Getting more conservation is key to making our electricity resources go farther and the ultimate goal of reducing our fossil fuel dependence. Making sure Hydro achieves its ambitious conservation goals is the vital first step in this direction.

BCSEA has teamed up with several groups to participate in the Commission’s current inquiry into BC’s 30-year transmission needs. This proceeding will identify zones for the development or renewable energy and assess the potential for energy exports to the US. It is critical to ensure that decisions are not made without fully considering environmental impacts and sustainability issues – and BCSEA is working to bring the best possible information and arguments forward in that regard.

In other proceedings, BCSEA strongly supported Terasen Gas to enhance its energy efficiency plans; and we spoke to the frustrating billing issues faced by BC Hydro customers who want to put self-generated power on the grid under the net metering tariff.

BC Hydro’s Large General Service Rate Design (LGSRD) application

Policy
By Tom Hackney on February 23, 2010

The BCSEA has teamed up with the Sierra Club of BC to participate in the BC Utilities Commission review of BC Hydro’s “Large General Service Rate Design” application. Hydro wants to implement to implement “conservation rates” for its larger commercial customers. These rates would be broadly similar to the Residential Inclining Block rate that was applied to residential customers in 2008 and the rate that was applied to industrial customers in 2005.

The basic principle of a conservation rate is that it charges customers an extra high rate for electricity consumed beyond a certain initial amount, and this is supposed to stimulate customers to implement energy conservation measures so they will not face those extra high prices. Residential customers may recall the controversy a couple of years ago, when Hydro implemented the “Step 1” and “Step 2” rates of $0.0598 and $0.0721 per kWh of electricity consumption.

BCSEA and Sierra Club support the idea of conservation rates and agree that customers should work to increase their efficiency and reduce their consumption. But the devil is in the details, and it is important to ensure that the rules do not simply encourage customers to “game the system,” i.e. find loopholes. Concerns have been raised about the complex rules for industrial customers. As well, there are concerns that particular customer groups may be unduly affected.

»

Document Downloads

Evidence on BC Hydro's 2008 Long-Term Acquisition Plan, prepared by John Plunkett of Green Energy Economics Group: addressing the need for more aggressive conservation and efficiency measures263.91 KB
BCSEA, et al's final argument on BC Hydro's 2008 Long-Term Acquision Plan131.74 KB
BCSEA, et al's submission on scope for the BCUC inquiry into BC's 30-year transmission needs56.69 KB