Compliance GTA
In Decision 25726-D01-2021, the AUC approved the negotiated settlement agreement (“NSA”) regarding the 2021-2022 general tariff application (“GTA”) from ENMAX Power Corporation (“EPC”). It provided three directions about two matters excluded from the NSA. The excluded matters included depreciation expense and the Enhanced Asset Management Strategy (“EAMS”) initiative. The NSA also identified two additional process items that were agreed upon between EPC, the Consumers’ Coalition of Alberta (“CCA”) and the Office of the Utilities Consumer Advocate (“UCA”). The two process items consisted of EPC’s commitment to establish and settle a deferral account for a capital project and to include actual cost savings related to shared services for the elimination of 158 employees in a future GTA.
In this decision, the AUC found that EPC had complied with the directions issued. The AUC also approved:
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revenue requirements of $102.00 million for 2021 and $105.23 million for 2022 on a final basis;
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a revised monthly transmission tariff of $8,500,113 for September 1, 2021, to December 31, 2021;
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a one-time refund of $2,100,720 to the Alberta Electric System Operator on September 1, 2021; and
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a monthly transmission tariff of $8,769,514 from January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2022.
2021-2022 GTA Compliance Filing
The following impacts to the transmission revenue requirement, including reductions, were agreed to in the NSA:
In response to Direction 1, EPC adjusted its 2021 and 2022 depreciation expenses to its last approved 2020 depreciation expense amount of 24.1 million. As a result, EPC’s transmission revenue requirement decreased by $4.74 million in 2021 and $6.57 million in 2022. For Direction 2, EPC removed $3.34 million of forecast operating and maintenance expenses related to the EAMS initiative, resulting in a decrease to EPC’s transmission revenue requirement of $1.65 million in 2021 and $1.69 million in 2022. For Direction 3, EPC committed to including a full business case for any funding requested for the EAMS initiative in a future GTA.
Regarding the first NSA process item, EPC established a deferral account for the Substation 32 arc flash hazard project and committed to disposing of any non-zero balances in the deferral account in a future GTA. Regarding the second NSA process item, EPC committed to including any net shared services cost savings in respect of actions taken by employees during the Employee Action Period, which resulted in the elimination of the 158 positions across EPC’s subsidiaries. EPC’s committed to including 2021 and 2022 actuals for shared services in the format requested by parties in a future GTA.
The AUC was satisfied that the additional NSA process items were adequately responded to by EPC, and that EPC had complied with its requirements in this compliance filing.
