FEI-FEVI 2010 EEC Report filed March 31, 2011 - FortisBC

Commission staff accepts that such determination will occur if the Commission Panel approves the
Settlement Agreement.
2. Item 13‐Alternative Energy Solutions
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Terasen Gas added 9 enhanced sales and business development staff in 2009 estimated to cost $1.35 million
and proposes increases of $3.0 million in 2010 for an additional 10 enhanced sales and business
development staff including $1.1 million for consultants and studies and a further $0.6 million in 2011 for 4
enhanced sales and business development staff (BCUC IR 1.72.2 and IR 2.96.2 to 2.96.4; IR 1.114.7). The
number of customers are expected to increase between 1.0 to 1.1 percent from 2009 to 2011, but the level
of spending in Customer Solutions and Services increases by 17 percent, 27 percent and 8 percent
respectively from 2009 to 2011 (BCUC IR 1.96.3).
The New Energy Solutions Deferral Account is to capture direct costs, sales and marketing O&M and other
development costs by timesheets or other direct charge and an overhead allocation. In Commission staff’s
view, due to the modest growth in customer additions from 2009 to 2011, the additional enhanced sales
and business development staff were primarily hired in 2009 to 2011 to develop and market Alternative
Energy Solutions. The use of timesheets, direct charges and overhead allocations may result in a proper
reallocation of costs from the gas utility to the New Energy Solutions Deferral Account.
The down time or idle time that will likely be experienced while the Alternative Energy is being marketed
may not be captured by the timesheet allocation and could remain as a cost to the gas utility. In
Commission staff’s view, it would be preferable to directly charge the fully loaded cost of the additional
enhanced sales and business development staff and the costs of consultants and studies to the New Energy
Solutions Deferral Account to avoid any of these costs being borne by natural gas customers.
If Terasen Gas is able to demonstrate that the use of timesheets, direct charges and overhead allocations
would result in none of the costs that are incurred for Alternative Energy Solutions including down time and
the costs of consultants and studies to be borne by gas customers, then Commission staff’s concern is
addressed.
3. Item 14‐Natural Gas for Vehicles (“NGV”)
APPENDIX A
to Order G-141-09
Page 106 of 110
Terasen Gas proposes to treat as general O&M, rather than track separately, NGV marketing and project
development costs incurred prior to signing a contract with a customer for compression and refuelling
service (BCUC IR 1.21.1).
Commission staff attempted to obtain information on the NGV marketing costs that are currently incurred
through information requests, but were unsuccessful. In Commission staff’s view, information on the
incremental marketing costs being incurred will be required if Terasen Gas, during 2010 and 2011, applies
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