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Volume 54, No. 23

228/2011

The British Columbia Gazette,

Part II

December 13, 2011

B.C. Reg. 228/2011 , deposited December 8, 2011, pursuant to the UTILITIES COMMISSION ACT [section 125.1 (4) (e)]. Ministerial Order M335/2011, dated December 8, 2011.

I, Rich Coleman, Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Housing, order that the Demand-Side Measures Regulation, B.C. Reg. 326/2008, is amended as set out in the attached schedule.

— R. COLEMAN, Minister of Energy and Mines and Minister Responsible for Housing .

Schedule

Section 1 of the Demand-Side Measures Regulation, B.C. Reg. 326/2008, is amended

(

a) by adding the following definition:

"clean or renewable resource" has the same meaning as in the Clean Energy Act ; ,

(

b) by repealing the definition of "energy device" ,

(

c) by repealing the definition of "energy efficiency training" and substituting the following:

"energy efficiency training" means training for persons who

(

a) manufacture, sell or install energy-efficient products or products that conserve energy,

(

b) design, construct or act as a real estate broker with respect to energy-efficient buildings,

(

c) manage energy systems,

(

d) conduct energy efficiency and conservation audits,

(

e) on behalf of an organization, manage or advise with respect to the conservation or efficient use of energy in the organization's facilities, or

(

f) in an organization, educate other persons about the benefits of energy efficiency and conservation; ,

(

d) by repealing paragraphs (

a) and (

d) in the definition of "regulated item" and substituting the following:

(

a) a product or system that uses energy or controls or affects the use of energy,

(

e) a building site design or building site selection plan, or

(

f) a community design; ,

(

e) in the definition of "specified demand-side measure" by adding the following paragraph:

(

e) financial or other resources provided

(

i) to a standards-making body to support the development of standards respecting energy conservation or the efficient use of energy, or

(ii) to a government or regulatory body to support the development of or compliance with a specified standard or a measure respecting energy conservation or the efficient use of energy in the Province; ,

(

f) by adding the following definition:

"specified proposal" means

(

a) a proposal respecting an amendment to the regulation referred to in paragraph (

a) of the definition of "specified standard", if the proposal is published by the minister responsible for the Energy Efficiency Act and specifically refers to this regulation;

(

b) a proposal respecting an amendment to the regulations referred to in paragraph (

b) of the definition of " specified standard ", if the proposed amendment is published in the Canada Gazette;

(

c) a proposal respecting an amendment to a standard referred to in paragraph (

c) of the definition of " specified standard ", if the proposal is published by the government and specifically refers to this regulation;

(

d) a proposal respecting

(

i) a new bylaw, or

(ii) an amendment to a bylaw

referred to in paragraph (

d) of the definition of "specified standard", if the proposal has been given first reading by the council of the local authority;

(

e) a proposal respecting

(

i) a new law, or

(ii) an amendment to a law

referred to in paragraph (

e) of the definition of "specified standard", if the proposal has been published by the governing body referred to in that paragraph; ,

(

g) in the definition of "specified standard" by adding the following paragraphs:

(

d) a bylaw of a local authority, if the standard promotes energy conservation or the efficient use of energy in the Province;

(

e) a law passed by a governing body of a first nation, if the standard promotes energy conservation or the efficient use of energy in the Province; , and

(

h) in paragraph (

a) of the definition of "technology innovation program" by adding " , use or support the increased use of " after " to develop ".

Section 4 is amended

(

a) in subsection (1) by striking out " Subject to subsections (4) and (5) " and substituting " Subject to subsections (1.5), (4) and (5) ",

(

b) by adding the following subsections:

(1.1) The commission must make determinations of cost effectiveness by applying the total resource cost test as follows and in the order set out:

(

a) subject to subsections (1.2) and (1.3), the avoided natural gas cost, if any, respecting a demand-side measure, in addition to the avoided capacity cost, is the amount that the commission is satisfied represents the authority's long-run marginal cost of acquiring electricity generated from clean or renewable resources in British Columbia, multiplied by 0.5;

(

b) subject to subsection (1.3), the avoided electricity cost, if any, respecting a demand-side measure, in addition to the avoided capacity cost, is

(

i) in the case of a demand-side measure of FortisBC Inc., an amount that the commission is satisfied represents FortisBC Inc.'s long-run marginal cost of acquiring electricity generated from clean or renewable resources in British Columbia, and

(ii) in the case of a demand-side measure not referred to in subparagraph (i), an amount that the commission is satisfied represents the authority's long-run marginal cost of acquiring electricity generated from clean or renewable resources in British Columbia;

(

c) with respect to a demand-side measure not referred to in

section 3 (a), do the following:

(

i) increase the benefits of the demand-side measure by an amount that does not exceed an amount proposed by the public utility for this purpose, if the commission is satisfied that the amount represents the participant or utility non-energy benefits of the demand-side measure;

(ii) if the benefits of a demand-side measure have not been increased under subparagraph (

i) or if the benefits of the expenditure portfolio of which the demand-side measure is a part has not been increased by 15% or more as a result of an increase under subparagraph (i), increase the benefit of the demand-side measure by an amount that

(

A) increases by 15% the benefits of the expenditure portfolio of which the demand-side measure is a part, and

(

B) is equal to the increase made under this subparagraph for all the other demand-side measures that are part of the expenditure portfolio.

(1.2) Subsection (1.1) (

a) does not apply to a demand-side measure that reduces the use of natural gas but does not reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with that use of natural gas.

(1.3) Subsection (1.1) (

a) and (

b) does not apply to a demand-side measure that encourages a switch from the use of oil or propane to the use of natural gas or electricity such that the switch would decrease greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia.

(1.4) In considering a demand-side measure that, in the commission's opinion, will increase the use of a regulated item with respect to which there is either

(

a) a specified standard that has not yet commenced, or

(

b) a specified proposal,

the commission, after applying subsection (1.1), may increase the benefit of the demand-side measure by an amount that represents a portion of the avoided capacity and energy costs that, in the commission's opinion, will result from the commencement and application of the specified standard, amendment or new bylaw proposed by the specified proposal, assuming that the standard, amendment or new bylaw comes into force.

(1.5) Despite subsection (1.1) and subject to subsections (4) and (5), the commission must determine that a demand-side measure that is part of an expenditure portfolio and that is cost effective when applying subsection (1.1) is not cost effective if

(

a) the demand-side measure is not cost-effective without applying subsection (1.1), and

(

b) the total expenditures respecting

(

i) the demand-side measure, and

(ii) all other demand-side measures that are part of the expenditure portfolio, that are not cost effective without applying subsection (1.1) and that are cost effective when applying subsection (1.1),

are more than

(iii) 33% of the total expenditures for the expenditure portfolio, in the case of a utility that recovers the expenditures in gas rates, or

(iv) 10% of the total expenditures for the expenditure portfolio, in the case of a utility that recovers the expenditures in electricity rates.

(1.6) For greater certainty, if the commission determines under subsection (1.5) that a demand-side measure that is part of an expenditure portfolio is not cost effective, the commission must exclude that demand-side measure from consideration when determining under that subsection whether another demand-side measure that is part of the expenditure portfolio is cost effective.

(1.7) For the purposes of subsections (1.1) (

c) and (1.5), the commission, when considering the benefits or expenditures respecting a public utility's expenditure portfolio, may consider a demand-side measure of the public utility that is not included in the expenditure portfolio to be a part of the expenditure portfolio.

(1.8) Despite subsection (1.1), the commission may determine that a demand-side measure, other than

(

a) a specified demand-side measure,

(

b) a public awareness program,

(

c) a demand-side measure referred to in

section 3 (a), or

(

d) a demand-side measure that is cost effective without applying subsection (1.1) but after applying subsection

(1.4) is not cost effective if the demand-side measure would not be considered cost-effective under the utility cost test.

(

c) in subsection (2) (

b) by adding " but after applying subsection (1.1) " after " without reference to this subsection ", and

(

d) by repealing subsections (3) and (7).

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