20250527Final_Order_No_36610.pdf

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
May 27,2025
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF COMMISSION ) CASE NO. IPC-E-25-18
STAFF'S APPLICATION TO UPDATE )
INPUTS TO THE SURROGATE )
AVOIDED RESOURCE ("SAR")MODEL ) ORDER NO. 36640
AND SAR-BASED AVOIDED COST )
RATES )
On April 7, 2025, Commission Staff ("Staff') applied to the Idaho Public Utilities
Commission ("Commission") requesting the Commission issue an order updating inputs to the
Surrogate Avoided Resource ("SAR") Model and approving the SAR-based avoided cost rates
submitted with the Application.
On April 16, 2025,the Commission issued a Notice of Application and Notice of Modified
Procedure, setting comment and reply comment deadlines. Order No. 36551. Idaho Power
Company ("Company") filed comments on May 7, 2025. No comments were filed by the public.
Staff did not file reply comments.
Having reviewed the record in this case we now issue this Final Order updating the inputs
to the SAR Model and SAR-Based avoided cost rates for the Company.
BACKGROUND
The Commission calculates and publishes SAR rates for qualifying facilities that are under
the applicable resource type project eligibility cap.' In Order No. 32697, the Commission found
that the final release of U.S.Energy Information Administration's("BIA")Annual Energy Outlook
automatically triggers a re-calculation of published avoided cost rates. In Order No. 32802, the
Commission clarified that an update should occur on June 1, 2023, or within 30 days of the final
release of the Annual Energy Outlook, whichever is later. Following the issuance of Orders No.
32697 and 32802, Staff annually updated natural gas price inputs into the SAR Model and a Staff
attorney sent a letter to the Company requesting the Company verify that Staff had correctly
updated and calculated the published avoided cost rates. The letter was filed with the Commission
and served to open the docket for the annual updates. Historically,Notices of Application were not
issued for these cases because "this annual update is a simple arithmetic re-calculation to an
'For projects that exceed the eligibility cap for SAR rates the Commission uses Integrated Resource Plan rates.
ORDER NO. 36610 1

established methodology that is accomplished administratively as a matter of course." Order No.
34350 at 1 citing Order Nos. 33305, 33538, and 33773.
In 2020, the Commission approved a more formal process to update inputs to the SAR
Model. Order No. 34628. The Commission stated, "[s]ubsequent annual SAR updates will be
initiated with an Application to the Commission. Despite the change in procedure to allow for
better tracking and transparency, this update is still intended to be a simple arithmetic calculation
to an established methodology."Id. at 1.
THE APPLICATION
Staff represented that it updated the SAR Model and its avoided cost rates based on the
proposed natural gas price forecast and the updated capacity deficiency information. Application
at 2. Specifically, Staff stated that the updates to the natural gas price forecast used the same
method approved in Case No. GNR-E-24-01, which calculates the average ofAECO Hub prices,
Stanfield Hub prices, Sumas Hub prices, and Opal Hub prices from the 2025 natural gas price
forecast published by Northwest Power and Conservation Council ("NWPCC"). Id.
COMPANY COMMENTS
The Company agreed with Staff s proposed update of the natural gas forecast in the SAR
Model based on the NWPCC's forecasts for its Ninth Power Plan. Company Comments at 2. The
Company believed the natural gas forecast utilized by Staff had been correctly updated in the
model, and the Company agreed that the calculations were consistent with the SAR methodology
approved by the Commission. Id.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION
The Commission has jurisdiction over this matter under Idaho Code §§ 61-501, 61-502,
and 61-503. The Commission has 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 also has authority under the Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act and the implementing of regulations of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
("FERC") to set avoided costs, to order electric utilities to enter fixed-term obligations for the
purchase of energy from qualifying facilities, and to implement FERC rules.
Having reviewed the record,we find that Staff correctly calculated the annual updates using
the Commission-approved method, and we find that the updated published avoided cost rates are
fair,just, and reasonable.
ORDER NO. 36610 2

ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the updated SAR Model and SAR-Based avoided cost
rates contained in the Application for the Company are approved, effective June 1, 2025.
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. See Idaho Code § 61-
626.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 271h day of
May 2025.
Gv�
EDWARD LODG , PIWSIDENT
,�®R. AMMOND JR., COMMISSIONER
DAYN HA IE, COMMISSIONER
ATTEST:
MAA- ba) io S z
Commission Secre
I:\Legal\ELECTRIC\IPC-E-25-18_SAR\orders\IPCE2518_final_em.docx
ORDER NO. 36610 3