Bulletin Index 2008

We periodically post bulletins here to inform customers of developments within BCTC and/or the industry and/or to solicit feedback on policy changes. These announcements can be time sensitive, so please subscribe for the updates.

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Our Transmission Scheduling bulletins for 2008 are listed below. Select another year in the drop-down to view bulletins from the archive.

Title	Bulletin Date
Extended windows for Labour Day 2008	August 21, 1:38 p.m.
Oasis problems 050808 Ended	August 6, 12:37 a.m.
oasis problems 050808	August 5, 11:52 p.m.
Partial OASIS ATC Outage over	July 30, 8:47 p.m.
Partial OASIS ATC Outage	July 30, 5:20 p.m.
End BCTC Scheduling System Outage	July 23, 8:55 p.m.
REMINDER: TSS Planned Outage - July 23	July 22, 8:55 a.m.
NE Economic Test Results for July 16, 2008	July 15, 2:04 p.m.
Network Economy Economic Test Results	July 15, 12:47 p.m.
OASIS Processing in Preschedule	July 15, 11:33 a.m.
TSS Planned Outage – July 23	July 9, 1:38 p.m.
BC - Alberta Tie Returned to Normal Operation	July 1, 5:42 a.m.
BC - Alberta Tie to 0 MW	July 1, 1:34 a.m.
Extended Windows for Independence Day	June 27, 2:59 p.m.
FERC Order No. 890 Consultation #2 - Comments	June 23, 10:52 a.m.
New BCTC Internet Site	June 13, 3:39 p.m.
FERC 890 Consultation No. 2 UPDATE	June 5, 9:14 a.m.
FERC 890 Consultation No. 2	June 3, 12:27 p.m.
FERC 890 Consultation Bulletin	May 21, 4:30 p.m.
Network Economy Meeting	May 21, 9:14 a.m.
Department Name Change	May 20, 9:40 p.m.
Network Economy Meeting	May 14, 1:00 p.m.
Long-Term Contract Rollover Rights and Competing Requests	May 6, 12:01 p.m.
Extended Windows for Memorial Day	May 5, 3:00 p.m.
FERC 890 Consultation – Draft Tariff & Business Practices	May 2, 5:29 p.m.

Extended windows for Labour Day 2008

Posted on August 21 , 1:38 p.m.

Market Operations and Development is pleased to visually clarify the opening of the extended windows (DOC, 59KB) for purchasing transmission during Labour Day, September 1, 2008.

Oasis problems 050808 Ended

Posted on August 6 , 12:37 a.m.

BCTC transmission scheduling system is restored, customers can resume normal scheduling procedures.

oasis problems 050808

Posted on August 5 , 11:52 p.m.

BCTC is currently experiencing problems with OASIS, effective August 05, 2008 @ 23:55 Pacific.. As a result, back up procedures will be in effect for Real time and Pre-schedule until our system is restored.. A subsequent bulletin will be will be posted when the normal procedures can be followed.

Partial OASIS ATC Outage over

Posted on July 30 , 8:47 p.m.

The OASIS ATC issue has now been resolved. Effective immediately, the partial OASIS outage is declared complete. Please resume normal OASIS operations.

Thank you for your patience.

Partial OASIS ATC Outage

Posted on July 30 , 5:20 p.m.

It has come to our attention that customers are experiencing issues with ATC postings on OASIS. As a result, we are declaring a partial OASIS outage and Business Practice Section 13.2 is in effect immediately. During this period, the preschedule and real-time offices will accept telephone requests for ATC, but customers must follow up by faxing in their Transmission Service Fax Request Form. Please insert your path name and related information, as appropriate, if it is not provided on the form.

Please telephone and fax the appropriate office as follows:

Preschedule Telephone: 604-699-7575 / Preschedule Fax: 604-696-9886

Real-Time Telephone: 604-455-1705 / Real-Time Fax: 604-455-1809

We will notify you via bulletin when we have resolved the technical difficulties.

We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you, in advance, for your patience regarding this matter.

End BCTC Scheduling System Outage

Posted on July 23 , 8:55 p.m.

Effective 21:00hrs PDT, BCTC Transmission Scheduling System has returned to service.

Martin Hanlon

System Control Manager,

Real Time Operations, BCTC

REMINDER: TSS Planned Outage - July 23

Posted on July 22 , 8:55 a.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on July 9, 2008 at 1:38 pm, this is a reminder that there will be a TSS outage from 19:00 PPT to 21:20 PPT on July 23, 2008, and Business Practice Section 13.4 back-up procedures will be in effect. Therefore, we ask customers to schedule around this time period accordingly. Again, we apologize for the impact and thank you for your cooperation regarding this matter.

NE Economic Test Results for July 16, 2008

Posted on July 15 , 2:04 p.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on July 15 at 12:47pm, BCTC hereby presents the Network Economic Test Results for July 16, 2008. Network Economy can now be purchased on OASIS. Again, we apologize for this inconvenience.

Network Economy Economic Test Results

Posted on July 15 , 12:47 p.m.

Due to failure to post Network Economy Economic Test Results on July 14, 2008 for July 16, 2008, we are in the process of rectifying this matter. We apologize for this inconvenience.

OASIS Processing in Preschedule

Posted on July 15 , 11:33 a.m.

We have experienced processing errors this morning in pre-schedule. Thus, we are re-evaluating the queue to ensure the processing is correct. We will contact customers if they are impacted by our re-evaluation. We apologize for this inconvenience and thank you for your patience regarding this matter.

TSS Planned Outage – July 23

Posted on July 9 , 1:38 p.m.

Please be advised that there will be a TSS outage from 19:00 PPT to 21:20 PPT on July 23, 2008, and Business Practice Section 13.4 back-up procedures will be in effect. To mitigate the impact of this outage, we ask customers to schedule around this time period. We apologize for the impact and thank you, in advance, for your cooperation regarding this matter.

BC - Alberta Tie Returned to Normal Operation

Posted on July 1 , 5:42 a.m.

Path 1 returned to service at 05:42 1 July, 2008. Path 1 BC - Alberta tie returned to normal operation.

BC - Alberta Tie to 0 MW

Posted on July 1 , 1:34 a.m.

BC - Alberta tie has been reduced to 0 MW flow until further notice.

Extended Windows for Independence Day

Posted on June 27 , 2:59 p.m.

Market Operations and Development is pleased to visually clarify the opening of the extended windows (DOC, 58KB) for purchasing transmission during Independence Day, 4 July 2008.

FERC Order No. 890 Consultation #2 - Comments

Posted on June 23 , 10:52 a.m.

Further to BCTC’s June 3 FERC 890 Bulletin, on June 17th, 2008, BCTC received comments from TransCanada (PDF, 58KB) in preparation for BCTC’s FERC Order No. 890 Consultation # 2. TransCanada submitted a proposal on mitigating the perceived risks associated with the implementation of conditional firm service, and also provided comments that addressed the revised definition of “Affiliate”.

Please refer to the Event posting for details about the consultation including the agenda.

New BCTC Internet Site

Posted on June 13 , 3:39 p.m.

BCTC is pleased to announce that it has redesigned its internet site. The user interface and some of the information architecture of the site has been improved for stakeholders. BCTC plans on launching the new site from 18:00 PPT to 19:00 PPT on June 19. The cut-over will take place at some point during this hour and may take several minutes to complete. During this time users may see a server error message or a message that the site can not be found. A 404 error page will appear once the site comes back online and will help redirect users to any pages where the links may have changed. Please ensure that your bookmarks are updated to reflect BCTC’s new internet site.

FERC 890 Consultation No. 2 UPDATE

Posted on June 5 , 9:14 a.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on June 3 at 12:27 pm and the Application to Temporarily Suspend the Release of Firm Available Transfer Capacity on the BC to Alberta Path (PDF, 76KB) (Application), which BCTC submitted to the BCUC on June 3, BCTC has received customer comments and queries pertaining to information contained within these documents.

We heard from customers that they have scheduling conflicts with the July 8 consultation date. These conflicts exist from July 4 – July 13, inclusive. Therefore, the consultation is rescheduled to July 14. We will announce details of the consultation imminently on our Events webpage.

In addition, we were asked about cost, queue, and rollover ramifications by those customers that are currently in the queue that have requested a Facilities Study for the purpose of obtaining Long-Term Firm Point-to-Point (LTFPTP) transmission service on the BC>Alberta path. The reason BCTC is requesting a temporary suspension of the Facilities Study, pending the resolution of the issue, is to avoid incurring the cost of a Facilities Study that may not result in a Service Agreement (CONFIRMED transmission reservation). If the customer chooses to proceed with the Facilities Study, the customer will be responsible for the Facilities Study cost. Under BCTC’s current proposed changes to its OATT, a customer with a transmission request submitted prior to BCUC’s approval of these proposed OATT changes will retain its current queue position but the rollover right will be under BCTC’s proposed transition process. If the resolution requires changes to BCTC’s OATT, those changes will be made in BCTC’s next OATT application, which is anticipated to be submitted to the BCUC in September.

BCTC’s intention is that both the LTFPTP transmission service to Alberta and Conditional Firm Service matters will be addressed in the consultation.

FERC 890 Consultation No. 2

Posted on June 3 , 12:27 p.m.

Further to BCTC’s May 21st Bulletin on its first FERC Order No. 890 Consultation meeting, BCTC is pleased to provide its response and clarifications (PDF, 157KB) on the comments it received on its proposed implementation of FERC Order No. 890, as well as an update on the consultation process. Customers are invited to provide any comments on the clarifications by June 17th.

During and subsequent to the consultation on April 30th, customers commented that BCTC’s proposed conditional firm service lacks transparency and entails risk in the manner that curtailment options would be defined and imposed. Customers are therefore concerned that BCTC’s proposed conditional firm service may have potential adverse impacts on existing long-term firm services. BCTC requests that customers submit proposals on mitigating the perceived risks associated with the implementation of conditional firm service, and/or any further comments on implementation issues of conditional firm service, by June 17th.

BCTC has scheduled a second consultation in support of its proposed implementation of FERC Order No. 890, on July 8th, at the Sutton Place Hotel in Vancouver. This second consultation will discuss customer proposals on conditional firm service; address the specific issues raised by customers in their comments on i) the simultaneous submission window and ii) performance metrics and operational penalties; and include further discussion on the clarifications noted above, as necessary. As indicated in the May 21st Bulletin, BCTC will also report on discussions that will be held with BC Hydro with respect to Attachment K planning processes and the designation and undesignation of network resources.

At the second consultation, BCTC will also seek input on the issues raised by some customers regarding the potential impact of incremental sales of firm transmission on existing firm transmission service on the BC to Alberta path.

BCTC will post and provide notification of the comments and proposals that it receives, and will finalize the agenda and time for the second consultation meeting by June 20th.

Please direct all comments and proposals to Brenda Ambrosi.

FERC 890 Consultation Bulletin

Posted on May 21 , 4:30 p.m.

On May 16th, 2008, BCTC received comments from BC Hydro, NorthPoint, and TransCanada on its proposed implementation of FERC Order No. 890.

On the basis of the comments received, BCTC will defer the second consultation meeting scheduled for May 29th to mid-June. In preparation for the consultation, BCTC will:

1. Meet with BC Hydro directly on specific Network Customer issues that it raises in respect of:

- the coordination of BCTC’s proposed Planning Process with BC Hydro’s Planning Process,

- the requirements for Designation and Undesignation of Network Resources;

2. Respond in writing to other comments where clarifications are warranted and to invite further comment on such clarifications; and

3. Seek more detailed comments and proposals from its customers on mitigating risks associated with the implementation of Conditional Firm Service.

BCTC will report the results of the above activities in the second consultation.

Within the next few days, BCTC will post clarifications to certain of the comments received where required. BCTC will provide notification when the clarifications are posted and will invite any further comments. At the same time, BCTC will provide a schedule for the second consultation and a request for customers to submit proposals on mitigating risks associated with the implementation of Conditional Firm Service.

As indicated in the consultation on April 30th, BCTC will hold an information session on ATC methodology when the methodology is adopted by NERC. It is expected that NERC will adopt the ATC methodology in September, 2008.

Network Economy Meeting

Posted on May 21 , 9:14 a.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on May 14 at 1:00 pm, BCTC stated that based on customer input to date there appeared to be a consensus that it is unnecessary to hold the Annual Meeting in 2008 and asked customers to advise BCTC otherwise by May 16, 2008. BCTC was not advised otherwise. Therefore, BCTC will inform the Commission that the parties agree not to hold the Network Economy Annual Meeting this year, with the next one to occur in 2009 prior to June 1, 2009 as per the Settlement Agreement. Thank you for your interest in this matter.

Department Name Change

Posted on May 20 , 9:40 p.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on April 11 at 8:55 am, Market Operations and Business Development are pleased to announce that its new name is Market Operations and Development.

Network Economy Meeting

Posted on May 14 , 1:00 p.m.

Further to the bulletin posted on April 23 at 2:59 pm, BCTC solicited input from customers for scheduling the 2008 Network Economy Annual Meeting with the parties to the Network Economy Settlement Agreement. No issues were identified with respect to the implementation of Network Economy Service and there appears to be a consensus that it is unnecessary to hold the Annual Meeting in 2008. Unless you advise, to the contrary, Brenda Ambrosi by May 16, BCTC will advise the Commission that the parties agree not to hold the Network Economy Annual Meeting this year, with the next one to occur in 2009 prior to June 1, 2009 as per the Settlement Agreement. Thank you for your interest in this matter.

Long-Term Contract Rollover Rights and Competing Requests

Posted on May 6 , 12:01 p.m.

On 1 May 2008, BCPS submitted a 1-year Rollover Point-to-Point Transmission Service Request #72135670 for 160MW on BCTC-AESO path with Start Date of 1 July 2008.

BCTC has completed an evaluation of the Firm ATC and the Point-to-Point Transmission Requests currently in the queue. BCTC has determined that three 5-years Point-to-Point Transmission Service Requests #71657256, 71657257 and 71657258, in priority sequence, are the Competing Requests. These requests, each for 100MW on BPAT-AESO path with Start Date of 1 July 2008, were submitted by TEMC on 12 October 2007.

Pursuant to Business Practice Section 16, BCTC will start a Competing Process on 6 May 2008. The following describes steps that BCTC will take to execute the Competing Process:

1. On 6 May 2008, BCTC will notify BCPS of the Competing Process.

2. On 6 May 2008, BCTC will Counter-offer TEMC (the competing request) a 4 years and 1 month Shaped Service (see table below) from 1 July 2008 to 31 July 2012 and this offer is conditional to BCPS not exercising its right of first refusal. TEMC has up to 00:000:00 May 22, 2008 to Confirm its acceptance of the Counter-offer by e-mail. (Refer to Business Practice Section 16.5.e for details.)

Shaped Service:

	1 Jul 2008	1 Aug 2008 - 31 Jul 2009	1 Aug 2009 - 31 Jul 2010	1 Aug 2010 - 31 Jul 2011	1 Aug 2011 - 31 Jul 2012
Firm ATC	100	100	8	44	46

3. On the Business Date following the date TEMC confirms its acceptance of the Counter-offer, BCTC will notify BCPS (the rollover request) and ask BCPS to match on the 4 years and 1 month term pursuant to its Rollover Request for 160 MW on the BCTC-AESO path.

4. BCPS will have to submit on OASIS a Rollover Matching Request within three Business Days from the date BCTC sends the notification.

5. Competing Process will continue with the remaining Competing requests in the queue based on available firm ATC.

6. BCTC will accept the Competing Request and Rollover Matching Request in accordance with Business Practice Section 16.

Extended Windows for Memorial Day

Posted on May 5 , 3:00 p.m.

Market Operations is pleased to visually clarify the opening of the extended windows (DOC, 55KB) for purchasing transmission during Memorial Day, May 26, 2008.

FERC 890 Consultation – Draft Tariff & Business Practices

Posted on May 2 , 5:29 p.m.

Further to BCTC’s FERC Order No. 890 Consultation that was held on April 30 in Vancouver, BCTC is pleased to provide its proposed redlined OATT and associated Business Practices for customer comment. BCTC also provides for easier reference, two documents that illustrate the charts discussed in the Planning Process presentation component of the Consultation. Customers are invited to submit their written comments on these proposed materials and any further comments on the April 30 Consultation to brenda.ambrosi@bctc.com by May 16. In addition, customers should indicate whether a second, topic-specific consultation is desired on May 29. BCTC will review customer comments and will confirm, no later than May 22, whether the May 29 consultation will be held. As indicated in the Consultation, BCTC will post customer comments.