2022 Bulletin Index - May to August
We periodically post bulletins here to inform customers of developments within BC Hydro Transmission and/or the industry and/or to solicit feedback on policy changes. These announcements can be time sensitive, so please subscribe for the updates.
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Our Transmission Scheduling bulletins for 2022 are listed below. Select another year to the right to view bulletins from the archive.
View the 2022 bulletins
May to August
Extended Windows for Labour Day
Posted on August 30, 11:10 a.m.
BC Hydro is pleased to visually clarify the opening of extended windows [PDF, 57 KB] for purchasing transmission for Labour Day, September, August 5, 2022.
Firm Counterflow Request Approved
Posted on August 26, 9:50 a.m.
On August 3, the firm counterflow provision, as approved by the BCUC, became effective as set out in BC Hydro’s TTC/ATC Business Practice. Since then, BC Hydro received a request from an OATT customer for an energy source to qualify as an assured energy delivery on the US to BC path, which will create firm counterflow ATC in the opposite direction on the BC to US path. Subsequently, BC Hydro reviewed the OATT customer’s request based on the criteria set out in the TTC/ATC Business Practice. Thus, BC Hydro determined the OATT customer’s request qualifies for the firm counterflow provision and will therefore become effective at 00:00:00 (midnight) PDT on September 1, 2022 for the remaining length of the term for AREF 80049172.
General Wheeling Rates Starting October 2022
Posted on August 22, 2:45 p.m.
The table of general wheeling rates, applicable to FortisBC under Rate Schedule 3817, has been updated to show the annual rates commencing October 2022.
Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue
Posted August 15, 2:00 p.m.
The Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue has been revised. Previous version of the updates can be viewed at Archived LTPTP Transmission Queue Updates.
OATI Planned Outages Impact Business Scheduling System on August 9 & 16
Posted on August 9, 9:20 a.m.
On August 9, 2022 between 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm PDT, OATI will perform an Emergency Inter-Site Transfer to resolve an unexpected network equipment malfunction. The event requires a brief interruption to all OATI services as processing is switched from one Data Center to the other. Therefore, we ask customers to please schedule outside of this outage window, if possible. Please contact Paulus Mau at 604-788-0579 if you experience any issues.
On August 16, 2022 between Midnight to 2:00 am PDT, OATI will be upgrading one of their database servers impacting scheduling in the Production environment. Therefore, we ask customers to please schedule outside of this outage window, if possible. Please contact Paulus Mau at 604-788-0579 if you experience any issues.
MODS Upgrade, Scheduling Outage, & Business Practice (BPs) Revisions for Industry Changes – Outage Over & BPs are Effective
Posted on Aug 3, 11:56 a.m.
Further to the bulletin posted on July 28 at 3pm, BC Hydro is pleased to announce the scheduling outage is over and the business practices are now effective.
Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue
Posted August 2, 2:30 p.m.
The Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue has been revised. Previous version of the updates can be viewed at Archived LTPTP Transmission Queue Updates.
August 3 MODS Upgrade & Scheduling Outage- REMINDER
Posted on August 2, 12:40 p.m.
Further to the bulletin posted on July 28, this is a reminder that there will be a scheduling outage on Wednesday, August 3, from 10:10 am to 11:30 am PDT as a result of the MODS upgrade. Consequently, BC Hydro asks its OATT customers to schedule around this outage time period.
Amended Business Practices – Short Term
Posted on July 29, 5:30 p.m.
Since four business practices were revised further to the June 28, July 25, and July 28 bulletins, BC Hydro took the opportunity to review and update its remaining business practices. Below are the short term and Settlement & Billing Business Practices. Please provide comments to Brenda Ambrosi by August 26, 2022; customer comments may be posted. The long term business practices will be posted for comments in the upcoming weeks.
| Business Practice | What’s Changed |
|---|---|
| Becoming a BC Hydro Transmission Customer (Redline/Clean) | Language and links were updated, and the content in section 4 sub-sections and section 5 were relocated to the Business Practices and Agreements webpages. |
| Posting of Transmission Service Offerings (Redline/Clean) | Clarified Language, inserted links, and combined Pricing information from Table 2 to Table 1. Added W/BCHA/VI-BCHA/POWELL.RIVER-BCHA.NTWK.LD path to Table 1. |
| Submitting a Short-Term Transmission Service Request (Redline/Clean) | Updated language for clarity and conciseness. |
| Submitting Energy Schedules (Redline/Clean) | Updated language. |
| Processing of Energy Schedules (Redline/Clean) | Updated language. |
| Network Economy Service (Redline/Clean) | Updated language and removed Burrard Heat Rate per BCUC Order G-158-15 from Network Economy Service Reporting. |
| Curtailment of Transmission and Energy (Redline/Clean) | Updated language. |
| Ancillary Services (Redline/Clean) | Updated language and re-ordered sections. |
| Intra-Hour Scheduling – Transmission & Energy (Redline/Clean) | Updated language. |
| Settlements & Billing (Redline/Clean) | Updated language. |
LTFPTP Competition
Posted on July 28, 3:40 p.m.
On July 26, 2022, BCPS submitted a request with ARef# 97463222 in the Request Type of RENEWAL to extend its existing contract for another 5 years term (the Rollover Request).
BC Hydro has completed an evaluation of the Long-Term Transmission Requests currently in the queue and determined that two Point-to-Point requests are identified as the Competing Requests on the GMS.MCA.REV to AB.BC Path. These Competing Requests have met all the criteria set out under section 4 of BC Hydro’s Rollover Rights of a Long Term Firm Transmission Service Business Practice.
BC Hydro will initiate competition on 2022-08-02 with the following details:
Rollover Request:
AREF# 97463222 queued on 2022-07-26 for 160 MW, with a Start Time of 2023-08-01 and a Stop Time of 2028-08-01 (duration of 5 years)
Competing Requests, processed one at a time, in priority order as established according to service queue priority:
- AREF# 82404641 queued on 2016-03-10 for 80 MW, with a Start Time of 2023-08-01 and a Stop time of 2030-08-01 (duration of 7 years)
- AREF# 82404642 queued on 2016-03-10 for 80 MW, with a Start Time of 2023-08-01 and a Stop time of 2030-08-01 (duration of 7 years)
The following describes BC Hydro’s steps in executing the Competing Process:
- BC Hydro has notified the Rollover Request Customer, by email, of its Right of First Refusal (ROFR) pertaining to ARef# 97463222 (the Rollover Request) in a Competing Process.
- BC Hydro will offer the customer that submitted ARef# 82404641 (the Competing Request), by email, a transmission capacity of 80 MW with a Start Time of 2023-08-01 and a Stop Time of 2030-08-01 on the condition that the Rollover Request Customer does not exercise its ROFR.
- The Competing Process will continue with Competing Request AREF# 82404642 if the customer of the Competing Request AREF# 82404642 does not accept the offer or fails to respond within the prescribed timeline.
Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue
Posted on July 28, 3:20 p.m.
The Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue has been revised. Previous version of the updates can be viewed at Archived LTPTP Transmission Queue Updates.
MODS Upgrade, Scheduling Outage, & Business Practice Revisions for Industry Changes – Time Confirmed
Posted on July 28, 3:00 p.m.
Further to the bulletins posted on July 25 and June 28, BC Hydro is pleased to announce the MODS upgrade will be implemented on Wednesday, August 3, from 10:10 am to 11:30 am PDT. Consequently, BC Hydro asks its OATT customers to schedule around this outage time period.
Once the MODS implementation is complete the following revised business practices, based on industry changes from NAESB and FERC Order 676-I and changes to the firm counterflow provision pursuant to the application approved by the BCUC, will become effective:
- Processing of Short-Term Point-To-Point Transmission Service Requests
- Redirect of a Transmission Reservation
- Resale, Transfer and Consolidation of Transmission Rights
- TTC/ATC
Another bulletin will be posted if the outage completes before 11:30 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, August 3.
OATI Planned Outage Impact Business Scheduling System
Posted on July 26, 3:10 p.m.
On July 27, 2022 between 5:30 pm to 6:30 pm PDT, OATI will be upgrading one of their databases impacting scheduling in the Production environment. Therefore, we ask customers to please schedule outside of this outage window, if possible. Please contact Brenda Ambrosi at 604-312-7391 if you experience any issues.
Extended Windows for New Month August 2022
Posted on July 26, 11:40 a.m.
BC Hydro is pleased to visually clarify the opening of extended windows [PDF, 50 KB] for purchasing transmission for new month starting Monday, August 1, 2022.
MODS Upgrade, Scheduling Outage, & Business Practice Revisions for Industry Changes - Update
Posted on July 25, 2:30 p.m.
Further to the bulletin posted on June 28, implementation of the MODS upgrade and the associated business practices pertaining to industry changes and the firm counterflow provision have been delayed to August. Another bulletin will be posted a few business days before the implementation date is confirmed along with the finalized business practices; BC Hydro received no comments on the revised business practices.
Quarterly Study Metrics Posted
Posted on July 4, 5:30 p.m.The quarterly
The quarterly study metrics has been posted. Previous version of the updates can be viewed at study metrics page.
MODS Upgrade, Scheduling Outage, & Business Practice Revisions for Industry Changes
Posted on June 28, 3:00 p.m.
Towards the end of July, MODS will be upgraded to incorporate significant industry changes from NAESB and FERC Order 676-I. Another bulletin will be posted once the date of implementation is confirmed and when the associated business practices, below, will become effective. In addition, and further to the March 17, 2022 bulletin, BC Hydro will be implementing changes to its firm counterflow provision as approved by the BCUC.
First, there will be a one-hour outage from 10:00 am to 11:30 am PDT (date to be confirmed in subsequent bulletin). Thus, BC Hydro will be asking its OATT customers to schedule around this outage time period.
Second, NAESB and FERC Order 676-I changes impact the following functionality: Preemption and Competition, Redirects, Resale, and Consolidation. As such, the corresponding business practices have been revised to reflect industry changes. In addition, BC Hydro has taken the opportunity to clarify language and re-order the business practices, where appropriate. For ease of viewing revisions, redline and clean versions of the business practices are below.
- Processing of Short-Term Point-To-Point Transmission Service Requests (Redline/Clean)
- Redirect of a Transmission Reservation (Redline/Clean)
- Resale, Transfer and Consolidation of Transmission Rights (Redline/Clean)
Third, since Preemption and Competition has substantially changed, BC Hydro is providing a:
- Guide to assist OATT customers through the new process, and
- “Sandbox” to the demo OASIS environment for OATT customers to gain experience with the new process if they so desire. Customers should go to https://demo.oasis.oati.com, fill out the User Registration Form under Registration at the top right corner, and send it to OATI for access to the sandbox. Note that an OATI certificate will be required if you don’t already have one.
Fourth, further to the March 17, 2022 bulletin, referenced above, the TTC/ATC Business Practice (Redline/Clean) reflects changes to the firm counterflow provision pursuant to the application approved by the BCUC.
Please provide comments regarding industry changes to business practice amendments to Brenda Ambrosi by July 13, 2022. BC Hydro may post customer comments.
Extended Windows for Independence Day
Posted on June 27, 4:20 p.m.
BC Hydro is pleased to visually clarify the opening of extended windows [PDF, 57 KB] for purchasing transmission for Independence Day, Monday, July 4, 2022.
System Impact Study Completed
Posted on June 17, 10:30 a.m
Further to the System Impact Study posted on May 26, 2022, BC Hydro issues Revision 1, which includes minor clarifications and corrected typos:
Long Term Point-To-Point OASIS Request AREF: 94879734
On the GMS.MCA.REV to BC.US.BORDER Path
October 1, 2022 to October 1, 2027
Please click here to view the System Impact Study Report.
Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue
Posted on June 9, 10:20 a.m
The Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue has been revised. Previous version of the updates can be viewed at Archived LTPTP Transmission Queue Updates.
System Impact Study Completed
Posted on May 26, 10:10 p.m, updated June 21, 2022 10:45 a.m.
BC Hydro has completed the System Impact Study:
Long Term Point-To-Point OASIS Request AREF: 94879734
On the GMS.MCA.REV to BC.US.BORDER Path
October 1, 2022 to October 1, 2027
Minor clarifications and corrected typos have been made to the original report (dated May 25th, 2022), which does not affect the original outcome.
Please click here to view Revision 1 of the System Impact Study Report, dated June 17, 2022.
Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue
Posted on May 26, 9:40 p.m
The Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue has been revised. Previous version of the updates can be viewed at Archived LTPTP Transmission Queue Updates.
Extended Windows for Memorial Day
Posted on May 19, 4:20 p.m.
BC Hydro is pleased to visually clarify the opening of extended windows [PDF, 57 KB] for purchasing transmission for Memorial Day, Monday, May 30, 2022.
Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue
Posted on May 11, 5:10 p.m
The Firm Sales to Alberta Long Term PTP Transmission Priority Queue has been revised. Previous version of the updates can be viewed at Archived LTPTP Transmission Queue Updates.
2022 Network Economy Meeting
Posted on May 5, 5:30 p.m.
Pursuant to British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) Order No. G-127-06, Appendix 1, the BCUC directed BC Hydro, then BCTC, to convene annual Network Economy Meetings to discuss on a "without prejudice" basis issues arising with respect to the use of Network Economy. A standing agenda item for these meetings is to review the use of, and continued requirement for, a different Trigger Price (as defined in Section 1, Attachment Q-2).
For the last several years, BC Hydro solicited customer feedback to determine whether or not there was an interest to hold the annual meeting; there was a lack of interest in all years. However, in 2009 it was suggested that a meeting may not be necessary if BC Hydro prepared an annual Network Economy report showing trends and statistics along with explanations for the figures. Notwithstanding, it was requested that the requirement for an annual meeting remain in place. Subsequently, BC Hydro applied to the BCUC to not hold the Network Economy Annual Meeting in 2009 and to instead post an annual Network Economy report in lieu of holding the meeting, which was approved by the BCUC.
In 2010, BC Hydro requested permission from the BCUC to, again, not hold an annual Network Economy Meeting. Pursuant to BCUC Letter No. L-45-10, BC Hydro is only expected to convene an annual Network Economy Meeting if customers of BC Hydro expressly ask for a meeting by way of a letter to BC Hydro with a copy to the BCUC. BC Hydro is pleased to post its Annual Network Economy Report to Transmission Customers, which covers the same issues and in the same format as previous years. If, after reviewing the report, you believe an annual meeting is required, please send your letter to Brenda Ambrosi and copy the BCUC by May 24, 2022.