Alberta Utilities Commission

Information Requests in the Residential Standards and Maximum Investment Levels (MILs) Proceeding

In Proceeding 27658, intervenors submit their information requests that address several topics in the standards of service and maximum investment levels (MILs) for residential services proceeding. These information requests fall in line with one or several topics included in the February 2023 issues list. Parties addressed information requests to the following intervenors: the distribution facility owners (DFOs) (ATCO Electric Ltd., ENMAX Power Corporation, EPCOR Distribution & Transmission Inc., FortisAlberta Inc.), the Developers (Anthem Properties, BILD Alberta, Melcor Developments Ltd.), the Municipalities (Alberta Municipalities, City of Airdrie), the Alberta Federation of Rural Electrification Associations (AFREA), and the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA).



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ATCO’s 2018-2023 Transmission Deferral Accounts Decision

In Proceeding 26573, the Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission) issued its decision regarding the 2018-2023 Transmission Deferral Accounts disposal of ATCO Electric Ltd. (ATCO). Central to this proceeding was ATCO’s Jasper Interconnection Project (the Jasper Project), in which it was found that ATCO sole-sourced one of its contracts at above-market rates. In making its decision to disallow over $7.6 million in cost recovery, the Commission considered the way ATCO prepared for and managed the Jasper Project and ATCO’s treatment of cancelled customer project costs. The Commission also directs a reduction associated with the sole-sourced contract, but the exact amount depends on ATCO calculating the value of the contract in its compliance filing.



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ATCO v Commission Court of Appeal Decision

In the Court of Appeal of Alberta, ATCO Electric Ltd. (ATCO) v Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission), 2023 ABCA 129 Memorandum of Judgment, ATCO sought the appeal of a Commission decision that denied ATCO the recovery of losses associated with the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire. The Commission’s initial decision relied on ATCO Gas & Pipelines Ltd v Alberta (Energy & Utilities Board), 2006 SCC 4 (the Stores Block decision), from which the Commission understood that ‘extraordinary retirements’ of assets are attributable to shareholders rather than customer accounts. After considering the circumstances, the Court of Appeal issued a decision allowing ATCO’s appeal to stand.



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TransAlta 2022-2023 GTA Arguments

In proceeding 27964, TransAlta Corporation (TransAlta) and the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA) submit their arguments before the Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission) in support and opposition to certain parts of TransAlta’s 2022-2023 general tariff application. TransAlta requested a $9.0 million revenue requirement for 2022 and $9.4 million for 2023, along with a one-time payment from the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) of $846,000 to reconcile approved interim rates. The three main issues on which the arguments focus are non-union salary escalation rates, TransAlta’s operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with AltaLink Management Ltd. (AltaLink), and TransAlta’s First Nations Advisory Committee costs.



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EPCOR’s 2023 System Access Services Rates Update Application

In proceeding 28133, EPCOR Distribution & Transmission Inc. (EPCOR) submits its 2023 System Access Service (SAS) rates application to the Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission) in response to the 2023 independent system operator (ISO) tariff of the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO). EPCOR states it is only updating its SAS rates to reflect the 2023 AESO demand transmission service (DTS) charges and that all other inputs are those originally approved in Decision 27653-D01-2022.[1]



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EPCOR’s 2023-2025 General Tariff Application Decision

In proceeding 27675, the Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission) issues its decision regarding the 2023-2025 general tariff application (GTA) of EPCOR Transmission & Distribution Inc. (EPCOR). Rather than proceed through an argument process, EPCOR negotiated a settlement with the Consumer’s Coalition of Alberta (CCA) and the Utilities Consumer Advocate (UCA). After review, the Commission approves EPCOR’s 2023-2025 GTA, which includes the negotiated settlement reduction of $10.81 million, the withdrawal of EPCOR’s request for a cloud-based software as a service (SaaS) cost deferral account, and compliance with Commission decisions.



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2022 ISO Tariff Modernization Application Arguments

In Proceeding 27864, the Alberta Electric System Operator (AESO) and interveners submit their arguments before the Commission for and against the AESO’s 2022 Independent System Operator (ISO) Tariff Modernization Application. In general, intervenors oppose the AESO’s proposed revisions to System Access Service Requests (SASRs) and Generating Unit Owner’s Contribution (GUOC) policies. However, intervenors do not oppose the AESO’s revisions to Transmission Must Run (TMR), cost allocation for transmission line relocations, or Payment in Lieu of Notice (PILON), which we summarize in our previous article. Therefore, this article only discusses the SASR and GUOC arguments.



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Directions for Fortis’s Streetlight Investment

In Proceeding 27682, the Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission) issues its decision regarding the terms and conditions (T&Cs) of FortisAlberta Inc. (Fortis) that pertain to its streetlight investment. In December 2021, Fortis sought the Commission’s input to determine whether Fortis should pay its streetlight investment to the developer or the municipality if the parties cannot agree on who is entitled to the payment. In Decision 27067-D01-2022, the Commission directed that the streetlight investment be paid to the municipality if the developer and municipality are in dispute. The Commission further directed Fortis to clarify the streetlight investment entitlement in its T&Cs.[1]

Fortis made its compliance filing. However, the Commission found that Fortis only complied with one of the three directions. Nevertheless, the Commission does not require Fortis to submit another compliance filing because the Commission will hear issues concerning streetlight investment in Proceeding 27658.[2]



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Arguments on ATCO’s Disposal of its 2018-2021 Transmission Deferral Accounts

In Proceeding 26573, ATCO Electric Ltd. (ATCO) proposed to remove $10.8 million of what it deemed as “above fair market value” costs related to matting, brushing, and hydrovac services for the Jasper Interconnection Project (Jasper Project). The proposed adjustment would reduce the project cost from $35.9 million to approximately $25.1 million. However, the original cost estimate for the project was $9.2 million.[1]

The Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission) reopened this deferral account application after completing an investigative process that revealed ATCO sole-sourced its matting, brushing, and hydrovac contract to Backwoods Contracting Ltd. (Backwoods) at above-market rates. The $10.8 million is what ATCO estimates are the above-market amount spent on the project. In this proceeding, the CCA and the UCA present their arguments before the Commission on whether ATCO’s proposed $10.8 million reduction is reasonable. 



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ATCO Electric Transmission 2023-2025 Tariff Application Arguments

In Proceeding 27062, ATCO Electric Transmission (ATCO) submit its 2023-2025 general tariff application to the Alberta Utilities Commission (the Commission) for approval. In December 2022, all parties agreed to a negotiated settlement, which the Commission approved in January 2023. However, the settlement excluded the three following matters:

  • A depreciation adjustment related to the Jasper Palisades Isolated Generation Plant.
  • Modification to the variable pay program.
  • Vegetation management reserve removal.

The intervening parties submit their oral arguments that address these three remaining issues.



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