Today, the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) issued a decision on FortisBC’s fast-charging services. The new time-based rates reportedly will be $0.26 per minute for 50 kW stations and $0.54 per minute for 100 kW stations.
However, confirmation of the exact rates and the effective dates is to come within 15 days of the BCUC’s order. Previously, the approved rates were $0.30 per minute at FortisBC sites.
FortisBC applied to the BCUC back on September 30, 2020. to approve its rate design and rates. The BCUC conducted an open and transparent process with two rounds of information requests and feedback from seven interveners.
The decision considered if FortisBC’s rates would be sufficient to recover costs. Additionally, it considered how the rates compared to non-regulated service providers.
The BCUC confirmed that time-based rates are the only option. The reason for this is energy-based rates are not possible to measure with direct current fast-charging stations.
With the approval, FortisBC will need to send a detailed assessment of the new rates for EV fast charging by December 31, 2022.
FortisBC has yet to confirm the day which the new rates will launch.
