20241230Final_Order_No_36436.pdf

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
December 30,2024
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION ) CASE NO. IPC-E-24-35
OF IDAHO POWER COMPANY FOR )
AUTHORITY TO FUND ITS CONTINUED ) ORDER NO. 36436
PARTICIPATION IN THE NORTHWEST )
ENERGY EFFICIENCY ALLIANCE IN 2025- )
2029 THROUGH THE ENERGY )
EFFICIENCY RIDER )
On September 10, 2024, Idaho Power Company ("Company") filed an application
("Application") with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission ("Commission") requesting
authorization to continue the Company's participation in the Northwest Energy Efficiency
Alliance ("NEEA") for the period of 2025-2029. The Company requested its proposed
participation be funded through the Idaho Energy Efficiency Rider("Rider").
The Company represented that NEEA is a non-profit organization whose purpose is to
maximize energy efficiency in the Northwest, and that the Company is currently an active member
in NEEA. Application at 2. The Company represented that it has funded NEEA since the
organization's inception, and that since 2002 the Commission has authorized the Company to
recover the costs for Demand Side Management("DSM")programs and NEEA participation from
the Rider.Id. at 3-4.
The Company believed that continued participation in NEEA is a wise use of customer
funds and will provide sufficient direct benefits to Idaho residents.Id. at 10. The Company stated
that the term of the Company's proposed agreement with NEEA would begin January 1,2025, and
expire on August 1, 2030, unless otherwise terminated.Id. at 11.
STAFF COMMENTS
Commission Staff ("Staff') reviewed the Company's Application, discovery responses,
Company cost-effectiveness analysis, and NEEA presentation materials. In general, Staff believed
that the Cycle 7 NEEA funding is likely to result in cost-effective energy savings for the
Company's Idaho customers.While Staff had concerns regarding the Company's previous EM&V
and from the Company's previous responses to discovery requests regarding NEEA participation,
Staff ultimately recommended that the Commission issue an order authorizing the Company to
ORDER NO. 36436 1

continue participation in NEEA for the 2025-2029 period, and to fund the participation through
the Rider.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
The Commission received one public comment from the City of Boise City supporting the
Company's participation in NEEA.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DECISION
The Commission has jurisdiction over this matter under Idaho Code §§ 61-501, 61-502,
and 61-503. The Commission is vested with the power to "supervise and regulate every public
utility in the state and to do all things necessary to carry out the spirit and intent of the [Public
Utilities Law]."Idaho Code§ 61-501.The Commission is empowered to investigate rates,charges,
rules,regulations,practices,and contracts of public utilities and to determine whether they are just,
reasonable,preferential, discriminatory,or in violation of any provision of law,and to fix the same
by order.Idaho Code §§ 61-502 and 61-503.
The Commission has reviewed the Application, attachments, and all submitted comments.
Based upon its review, the Commission finds it reasonable to approve the Company's continued
participation in NEEA as requested.
In Order No. 27045, Case No. IPC-E-96-26, the Commission first considered the
Company's proposed participation in NEEA. The Commission found that:
NEEA's role in achieving greater efficiencies in the use of electricity has been
advanced by the Comprehensive Review of the Northwest Energy System after a
year-long public debate regarding the future of energy markets in the Northwest.
The Commission has been supportive of investments made by its regulated utilities
in conservation programs so long as those programs are prudent for ratepayers.
Prudent conservation makes sense from both a societal and an economic
perspective. We believe that it is one of the responsibilities of this Commission to
encourage and facilitate the investment by the utilities we regulate in such
programs.
Order No. 27045 at p. 5 (emphasis added). While the Commission continues to encourage the
Company to fund cost-effective DSM and energy efficiency programs,approval of the Company's
continued participation in NEEA, and the use of Rider funds to pay for such participation, is not a
determination of prudency. See Order Nos. 31080, 33210, and 34556. To obtain a future
determination that the Company's use of Rider funds was prudent,the Company must demonstrate
that customers sufficiently benefit from the Company's participation in NEEA.
ORDER NO. 36436 2

ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Company's Application is granted.The Company may
continue its participation in NEEA from 2025-2029, with such participation funded through the
Rider and subject to a prudency review.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date upon this Order regarding any
matter decided in this Order. Within seven (7) days after any person has petitioned for
reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration. Idaho Code §§ 61-626.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho, this 30t' day of
December 2024.
ERIC ANDERSON, PRESIDENT
R. HAMMOND JR., COMMISSIONER
G
EDWARD LODGE, MMISSIONER
ATTEST:
I L 400.0.0A.-
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Commission Secreta
IALegahELECTRIC\IPC-E-24-35_NEEA\orders\IPCE2435_FO_cb.docx
ORDER NO. 36436 3