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

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Response:
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
Submission Date:
October 5, 2012
Page 183
“The high levels of theft [in Brazil] however do mean that a simple and low functionality
smart metering system could pay for itself, as it has in Italy, assuming the logistical
difficulties of such a large rollout, 54 million customers, and the effects of the moist
climate are not too costly. In most smart meter rollouts, it is not the actual meters which
cost; it is the communication and data-handling infrastructure put into place. However if
tampering and accurate readings are the main goals, this infrastructure is less expensive
– again as can be seen from the example of the Italian rollout which cost only €70 per
household as compared to over €200 in most other markets. This will again mean
however that the number of environmentally beneficial programmes enabled by the
system may be lowered depending on the system design.”
82.1 Are FortisBC assumptions regarding the cost to customers of electricity theft
consistent with those used by BC Hydro in its Smart Metering and Infrastructure
Program Business Case? If no, please explain.
The assumptions regarding the cost to customers of electric theft are not detailed in the
referenced BC Hydro Business Case. The document reports $100 million annually in lost
revenues due to electric theft but does not specifically cite the associated cost to customers.
The theft benefit per customer of FortisBC AMI deployment is estimated at $330 ($38 million
NPV benefit divided by 115,000 customers) which compares favourably with the BC Hydro theft
benefit of $406 ($732 million NPV benefit divided by 1,800,000 customer) as estimated from
data in the published Business Case, which suggests similar assumptions are used.
Response:
82.2 Is FortisBC aware of BC Hydro’s approach to identifying electricity theft, and their
successes/ challenges to date? If yes, please describe. If no, please explain if
FortisBC’s collaboration and coordination with BC Hydro could be considered
adequate without this information.
The detailed methodology used in identifying electric theft and the subsequent results is
necessarily sensitive in nature. FortisBC confirms that it has discussed with BC Hydro their
approach to identifying electricity theft and their successes/challenges to date under a Non -
Disclosure Agreement. The benefit of this discussion is reflected in FortisBC’s approach to theft
reduction in Tab 5.3.2 of the Application and it is expected that collaboration will continue as
more experience is gained by both parties.