Clean Power Call

BC Hydro posted the following: December 23, 2008 Long Term Acquisition Plan (LTAP) Evidentiary Update Please be advised that on December 22, 2008 BC Hydro filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) an Evidentiary Update to the 2008 LTAP [PDF] to address recent economic events and the resulting impacts on BC Hydro’s load forecast and Demand Side Management Plan. In addition, this filing updates the key items that impact BC Hydro commitments to resource acquisition activities, including expected results of the Bioenergy Call Phase I RFP and current attrition estimates for the F2006 CFT. Given the reduced energy load/resource gap arising from the LTAP Evidentiary Update, BC Hydro has reduced the target size of the Clean Power Call from 5,000 GWh/year to 3,000 GWh/year. Accordingly the revised Order being sought by BC Hydro requests that the BCUC endorse: “The proposed Clean Power Call pre-attrition target of 3,000 gigawatt hours per year of firm energy”. The RFP, when issued, indicated in section 1 a target of 5,000 GWh/year of seasonally and/or hourly Firm Energy, and further indicated that the target may be revised during the RFP process. Evaluation criteria in section 18 of the RFP include consideration of BC Hydro’s load/resource balance at the time of evaluation. The LTAP filing is referenced in section 19 of the RFP. BC Hydro intends to continue with the RFP process as per the current RFP schedule and, to the extent that any Proposals provide cost-effective energy supply, BC Hydro intends to award Electricity Purchase Agreements following the receipt of the BCUC decision regarding the 2008 LTAP. December 10, 2008 Confidentiality and Compliance Provisions As BC Hydro continues with the evaluation phase of the Clean Power Call, we wish to remind all Proponents that they remain bound by the Confidentiality and Compliance Agreement, including section 20 of the RFP.  Among other things, section 20.7 of the RFP prohibits collusion and discussions among Proponents concerning their respective Proposals.  Accordingly, all Proponents should refrain from (i) disclosing their Proposals to any other Proponent and (ii) accessing the Proposals of other Proponents, in each case for any reason.  Proponents should note that violations of section 20 of the RFP may result in serious consequences, including but not necessarily limited to, disqualification.

Request for Proposals

BC Hydro issued the Clean Power Call Request For Proposals (RFP) on June 11, 2008.

The web content is intended for the Proponents registered to participate in the RFP. BC Hydro will update these pages on an ongoing basis. It is the sole responsibility of each Proponent to review the pages on a regular basis and to identify new postings, including Addenda and revised versions of RFP documents. BC Hydro assumes no liability or obligation to Proponents who are unaware for any reason of the web content.

The Clean Power Call has been changed from a Call For Tenders process to a RFP to allow BC Hydro more flexibility in working with the developers to come up with cost-effective contract terms and conditions that address the needs of larger and more complex projects. Regulatory review of certain elements of the Clean Power Call will occur in conjunction with BC Hydro's 2008 LTAP application, which is being filed with the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC).

BC Hydro is issuing this structured RFP to help ensure that the province has sufficient clean electricity to meet its electricity needs. The Clean Power Call RFP aligns with the BC Energy Plan: A Vision for Clean Energy Leadership, released February 27, 2007, which indicates that at least 90% of all electricity generated in the province must continue to come from clean or renewable sources and to achieve electricity self-sufficiency by 2016.

Some of the key aspects of the RFP are as follows:

• The RFP will be for "clean" energy as defined by the province in its forthcoming guidelines for clean and renewable resources, from projects using proven technologies.
• The acquisition target will be 5,000 GWh/year of seasonal and hourly firm energy through a competitive process.
• The RFP will accommodate larger projects with extended in-service dates of 2016 or earlier.
• The RFP will be structured and allow limited negotiation regarding the terms of the Electricity Purchase Agreement with some Proponents. Other Proponents will sign contracts that involve little or no negotiations.

Joint BC Hydro & BCTC information session – RFP registration and interconnection matters

On July 8, 2008, BC Hydro and BC Transmission Corporation (BCTC) held a joint session in Vancouver on RFP registration and interconnection matters for potential Proponents in the Clean Power Call RFP.

This information session was divided into a morning and an afternoon session, with the morning session presented by BC Hydro for an overview of the RFP and the afternoon session presented by BCTC on Clean Power Call interconnection matters. The presentation material is available on our Workshops and Presentations page.

RFP documents and information

Proponents participating in the RFP need to familiarize themselves with the following relevant documents and other pertinent information.

• RFP Documents and Addenda
• Questions and Answers
• Archived Documents

RFP schedule*

Event/Activity	Scheduled date(s)
BC Hydro/BCTC Registration and Interconnection Information Session (section 11)	July 8, 2008
Submission of Registration Documents and registration fee (section 5)	August 12, 2008
BCTC Interconnection Technical Workshop (section 11)	September 18, 2008
Issue of Specimen EPA (section 14)	September 22, 2008
Proponents submit request(s) to BC Hydro for Pre-Proposal approvals and/or determinations (section 5.1)	September 30, 2008
Proponents Submit Request to BC Hydro (for Distribution System-connected Projects) for a Preliminary Interconnection Study (section 10).	October 7, 2008
Proponents Submit Request to BCTC (for Transmission System-connected Projects) for a Feasibility Interconnection Study (section 10).	October 17, 2008
Proponents' RFP Information Session (section 11)	October 23, 2008
Filing of Preliminary Interconnection Study agreements with BC Hydro for Distribution System-connected Projects (4:00 p.m. PPT) (section 10)	November 7, 2008
Filing of Feasibility Interconnection Study agreements with BCTC for Transmission System-connected Projects (4:00 p.m. PPT) (section 10) – BASE CASE DATE	November 17, 2008
PROPOSAL SUBMISSION (4:00 p.m. PPT) (section 15)	November 25, 2008
Proponents with Projects in Fortis Service Area submit to BC Hydro a FortisBC interconnection study (section 10)	December 1, 2008
Post-Proposal discussions (section 17)	January through mid-April, 2009
Release of Feasibility Interconnection Study, Preliminary Interconnection Study, or special study (Fortis Service Area) as applicable (section 10)	February 23, 2009
Final Evaluation and EPA awards (section 17)	Mid-April through June, 2009

*Schedule reproduced from Schedule 2 of the Clean Power Call RFP. Certain capitalized words and phrases used in this schedule are set out in Schedule 1of the Clean Power Call RFP. Please refer to these definitions for clarity.

Inquiries and updates

Please email us if you have a general question on the Clean Power Call or would like to be added to our mailing list and be notified when additional information is posted on this website.