BCUC Approves Deferral Account for FortisBC’s Electric Vehicle Workplace and Fleet Charging Funding Program

February 2, 2023

Recently, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) approved FortisBC Inc.’s (FBC) application for a new deferral account to enable funding to organizations for the purchase and installation of Electric Vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure.

Through FBC’s EV Workplace and Fleet Charging Funding Program, eligible organizations can request a one-time FBC funded contribution of $1,920 per Level 2 EV Charger, capped at seven chargers per site.

The new deferral account, approved by BCUC Order G-11-23, will capture all costs incurred through the program’s implementation, including administration and development costs. Program costs will be recovered from all FBC customers over a ten-year period. FBC expects the program to be cost-effective due to the benefits received from EV charging revenues.

The BCUC conducted an open and transparent public proceeding to review FBC’s application. For more information about this proceeding, please refer to the proceeding webpage.

Background

On May 13, 2022, FBC submitted its application to the BCUC requesting approval of a new non-rate base deferral account for its EV Workplace and Fleet Charging Funding Program pursuant to sections 59 to 61 of the Utilities Commission Act.

In its application, FBC stated that the program was consistent with Section 18 of the Clean Energy Act, as a prescribed undertaking under Section 4 of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction (Clean Energy) Regulation. A prescribed undertaking is a project, program, contract, or expenditure that is in a class of projects, programs, contracts, or expenditures prescribed for the purpose of reducing greenhouse gas emissions in British Columbia. The BCUC must set rates that allow a utility to collect sufficient revenue to enable it to recover its costs of a prescribed undertaking.

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