FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC) Application for a Certificate of Public ...

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FortisBC Inc. (FortisBC or the Company)
Application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
for the Advanced Metering Infrastructure Project
Response to British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC or the Commission)
Information Request (IR) No. 1
Table BCUC IR1 Q77.1 – Revenue Protection Expenditures
78.0 Reference: Project Costs and Benefits
Exhibit B-1, Tab 5.0, Section 5.3.2, p. 81;
Exhibit B-1, Tab 6.0, Section 6.1, p. 97
Energy Theft - Theft Reduction - Marijuana Assumption
FortisBC states on page 81 of the Application:
Submission Date:
October 5, 2012
Page 170
2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
$000s
2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Status Quo Revenue
Protection $ 235 $ 244 $ 248 $ 253 $ 257 $ 262 $ 267 $ 272 $ 276 $ 281 $ 287 $ 292 $ 297 $ 302
AMI Incremental 0 0 0 $ 118 $ 241 $ 245 $ 249 $ 254 $ 258 $ 263 $ 268 $ 273 $ 277 $ 282
Annual Total $ 235 $ 244 $ 248 $ 371 $ 498 $ 507 $ 516 $ 526 $ 534 $ 544 $ 555 $ 565 $ 574 $ 584
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028
$000s
2029 2030 2031 2032
Status Quo Revenue
Protection $ 302 $ 308 $ 313 $ 319 $ 325 $ 330 $ 336 $ 342 $ 349
AMI Incremental $ 282 $ 288 $ 293 $ 298 $ 303 $ 309 $ 314 $ 320 $ 326
Annual Total $ 584 $ 596 $ 606 $ 617 $ 628 $ 639 $ 650 $ 662 $ 675
“The majority of energy theft at FortisBC is attributed to indoor marijuana grow
operations. Customers engaged in indoor marijuana grow operations are motivated to
steal electricity in an effort to avoid detection for two main reasons:
• Customer billing records can be subject to production orders by law enforcement
officials and used as evidence to secure search warrants; and
• An amendment to the provincial Safety Standards Act in 2006 obligates utilities,
on request, to provide municipalities with a report identifying premises with consumption
exceeding 93 kWh per day. This regulation is the basis for safety-focused initiatives in
various BC municipalities whereby, based on abnormal electric consumption, municipal
safety teams can inspect and shut down premises that exhibit unsafe conditions.
As a result, marijuana grow operators often rely on energy theft to avoid scrutiny by
authorities.”
FortisBC states on page 97 of the Application:
“While system losses can be reasonably measured at the transmission level, the current
metering system does not allow accurate measurement of distribution losses as meter
readings downstream cannot be accurately synchronized with measurements at the
substation.”