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 19
FortisBC considers this benefit non-quantifiable as detailed in the response to BCUC IR1 Q8.1.
Response:
8.1.2 Provide the cost of overlaying the ambient temperatures coinciding with
the hourly meter readings in the proposed customer information portal,
helping customers better understand the relationship between
temperature and electricity consumption for their particular premises.
The Itron Customer Care applications, that form part of the AMI project, trend temperature
delivered from a variety of weather feeds against meter data. FortisBC intends to subscribe to
live hourly weather feeds at several locations throughout its service territory at a cost of less
than $3,000 annually in order to provide this information to customers.
Response:
8.1.3 As all customers might not have computer access to a customer online
portal, provide the cost of providing readings at regular intervals that will
allow customers (through the online customer information portal) to
examine electric usage in a timely and unobtrusive manner.
FortisBC considers the provision of information and services via the Internet to be a standard
option that provides customers with additional communications channels and reduces overall
cost. The capital cost of the customer portal (which will include a number of features including
the provision of meter readings at regular intervals) is $0.25 million.
Response:
8.1.3.1 Did FortisBC assume that all AMI customers have internet
access?
No. Currently, customers without Internet access (and those that prefer to deal with FortisBC
representatives over the phone) can call to get information and may request additional printed
data to be mailed to them. Although this is more expensive than providing the same information