AI-generated summary
· Rir · 08/21/2025
Intervenors file Round 1 Information Request responses challenging EfficiencyOne's proposed DSM benefit-cost analysis test, with multiple witnesses favouring the PAC test over a broad societal BCA
AI summary
- The Small Business Advocate (SBA/Daymark) argued in Exhibits E-16 and E-17 that EfficiencyOne and Energy Futures Group have not independently quantified non-energy benefits labelled "amenity," "empowerment," and "pride," and that proxy adders from Exhibit E-1, Appendix B, Table 14 are unsupported assumptions; witness Whitten confirmed alignment with the Demand Side Management Program Administrator Cost (PAC) test as the primary screening tool, supplemented by the Total Resource Cost (TRC) test applied only to quantified costs and benefits.
- The Industrial Group's expert Bowman (Exhibits E-19 and E-20) contended that the PAC test is preferable because the TRC test obscures utility-customer impacts and treats incentive payments as a wash, citing the NL Board of Commissioners Order P.U. 33(2022) and noting that BC, Manitoba, PEI, NB, and Ontario effectively use the PAC/Utility Cost Test as their primary Cost Effectiveness measure for DSM.
- Bowman (Exhibit E-20, IR-2) argued EfficiencyOne's proposed discount rate is inconsistent with how NS Power evaluates alternative capital resources—specifically referencing the NSEB-approved WACC of 6.72% used in Matter M12217 (Wasoquonatl Transmission)—and that this violates NSPM Principle 1 requiring consistent methods across distributed energy resource investments.
- Synapse Energy Economics (Exhibit E-21) defended the societal BCA framework, asserting that the Energy Reform Act and Energy and Regulatory Boards Act (s. 6(2)(d)) broaden the Board's mandate to encompass sustainable development, GHG reductions, and health impacts, and that a PAC-primary approach would be inconsistent with Nova Scotia's stated Regulatory Compliance policy goals as listed in the Lane evidence, Table 3.
- The Board issued a hearing logistics letter (Document 323725) scheduling the public hearing to begin September 22, 2025, at Summit Place, Halifax, with witness attendance lists and virtual-appearance requests due by August 27, 2025.
Disclaimer: This summary was generated by AI from the filings it describes. We take care to make it accurate, but errors are possible - and it isn't advice. Only the filings themselves are the record: if you're relying on something here, confirm it against the source documents or the Nova Scotia Energy Board's own record. Full disclaimer →
What was filed
Documents filed on this day
- E-16 SBA (NESB) RIR 1
- E-17 SBA (IG) RIR 1 to 2
- E-18 IG (ECEL) RIR 1
- E-19 IG (NSEB) RIR 1 to 4
- E-20 IG (Synapse) RIR 1 to 3
- E-21 Synapse (IG) RIR 1 to 2
- 99049 Board Letter re: Hearing Logistics