Section 44.1 of the Utilities Commission Act (UCA) gives the BCUC the right to demand a long-term resource plan (LTRP) from public utilities. The BCUC may exempt utilities from any or all of the requirements, and generally does not expect small utilities to file plans.
This section was added to the UCA in 2008, following a 1996 BC Court of Appeal decision that found the BCUC had no legal powers to demand a utility provide a plan for review.
The BCUC will accept a long-term resource plan, in whole or in part, if it finds it to be in the public interest. The BCUC may also reject a plan, and has done so in the past. In making its decision, the BCUC is obligated under the UCA to consider (section 44.1(8)):
- BC’s Energy Objectives (contained in section 2 of the Clean Energy Act); and
- Whether the plan contains adequate demand-side measures.
The acceptance of a long-term resource plan does not imply approval any spending or other actions by the utility. However, there are two things the BCUC may do as part of the acceptance (section 44.1(9)):
- Exempt a proposed investment from the need for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity; and
- Decide a matter to be “conclusively” determined, such that it cannot be questioned by a future panel (other than as part of a reconsideration).
Contents
The BCUC’s current resource planning guidelines (developed in 2003) set out the content expected in a long-term resource plan. Many of the categories stem from requirements in section 44.1(2) of the UCA, but some have been added at the discretion of the BCUC.
The key information a utility must provide includes:
- The planning context and objectives;
- Different scenarios for forecast demand (load forecasts), ideally 15 to 20 years into the future;
- The demand-side measures and sources of energy supply available;
- Resource portfolios for each demand forecast scenario; and
- An action plan.
Utilities must also demonstrate that they consulted sufficiently with their stakeholders in developing the plan, and that it is consistent with government policy.
Recent examples
Public utilities tend to give unique names their plans, but the following are all long-term resource plans in the meaning of section 44.1 of the UCA.
FortisBC Inc.’s 2021 Long-Term Electric Resource Plan was filed on August 4, 2021, and accepted by the BCUC on December 21, 2022.
FortisBC Energy Inc.’s Long-Term Gas Resource Plan was filed on May 9, 2022 with an evidentiary update on February 24, 2023, and accepted by the BCUC on March 20, 2024.
Pacific Northern Gas’s 2019 Consolidated Resource Plan was filed on October 31, 2019, and accepted by the BCUC on October 23, 2020.
Creative Energy’s 2021 Long-term Resource Plan was filed on January 13, 2021, and rejected by the BCUC on September 27, 2021.
BC Hydro’s 2021 Integrated Resource Plan was filed on December 21, 2021 with an evidentiary update on June 15, 2023, and accepted by the BCUC on March 6, 2024.