BCUC reduces regulatory burden for thermal energy systems, in reponse to cangea

British Columbia
​In the draft Thermal Energy System (TES) guidelines, CanGEA had requested clarification on the intent behind a proposed eligibility for regulatory exemption checkbox that, "There is no agreement or arrangement granting the TES Provider exclusive rights to own or operate the TES."

Geothermal development projects require relatively high levels of capital expenditures and reservoir specialists— without the enablement of TES Providers to own and operate the system, the risks for developers and investors to harness geothermal resources are too high.
As a result, BCUC has made the following adjustment, "The attestations with respect to Exclusivity in Appendix A, which state “There is no agreement or arrangement granting the TES Provider exclusive rights to construct, own, or operate the TES” and “There is no agreement or arrangement granting the TES Provider exclusive rights to own or operate the TES” are replaced by one attestation that states “There is no arrangement granting the TES Provider exclusive rights to provide service (e.g. mandatory connection)."

This is a preferential outcome, as it streamlines the TES application, while allowing geothermal developers to confirm their customers with an energy purchase agreement. Further, the adjusted language provides for geothermal developers to own and operate the utility system, avoiding the less desirable scenario of being forced to hand it over to another firm that would have to adapt to a steep learning curve and data gap.

Following this update, CanGEA submitted an additional submission - in reply to the submissions of other interveners. We expressed out thanks to BCUC for addressing our concerns, as well as provided a few short comments on other submissions.
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The public may view the proceedings here.