20260713Notice_of_Petition_Order_No_37097.pdf

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
July 13,2026
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE IDAHO ) CASE NO. IPC-E-26-15
HYDROELECTRIC POWER PRODUCERS )
TRUST'S PETITION FOR IDAHO POWER ) NOTICE OF PETITION
COMPANY TO REDUCE ITS OPERATION )
AND MAINTENANCE CHARGES ) NOTICE OF INTERVENTION
APPLICABLE TO SCHEDULE 72, ) DEADLINE
GENERATOR INTERCONNECTIONS TO )
PURPA QUALIFYING FACILITY SELLERS ) ORDER NO. 37097
On May 19, 2026, the Idaho Hydroelectric Power Producers Trust ("IdaHydro" or
"Petitioner") petitioned the Idaho Public Utilities Commission ("Commission") requesting to
update Idaho Power Company's ("Company") operation and maintenance ("O&M") charges
applicable to Schedule 72, generator interconnections to Public Utilities Regulatory Act
("PURPA") qualifying facilities ("QFs") sellers ("Schedule 72") to actual costs ("Petition").
The Commission now issues this Notice of Petition and sets deadlines by which interested
persons may intervene.
BACKGROUND
On May 8,2025,the Company applied seeking re-examination of the O&M charges under
Schedule 72, with the revised charges to become effective January 1, 2026. Case No. IPC-E-25-
22, Order No. 36894 at 1. In response, IdaHydro did not dispute the Company's proposed updates
to the inputs or calculations used to determine the Schedule 72 O&M charges. Id. at 5. Instead, it
challenged the underlying methodology that the Commission previously approved for calculating
those charges.Id. IdaHydro contended that the system-average approach relies on what it described
as"phantom costs based on averages."Id. It further asserted that the Company does not separately
record actual O&M expenses attributable to individual QFs but rather includes those expenses
within broader plant accounting categories.Id. IdaHydro believed that because actual O&M costs
are not tracked at the QF level, there is no reliable means of determining whether the resulting
charges accurately reflect the incremental O&M costs incurred beyond the Company's ordinary
utility operations. Id.
NOTICE OF PETITION
NOTICE OF INTERVENTION DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 37097 1

The Commission rejected IdaHydro's challenge in that proceeding, finding that Case No.
IPC-E-25-22 was limited to updating the inputs used in the existing O&M charge calculation and
was not intended to revisit the validity of the Commission-approved methodology. Id. at 12. The
Commission explained that any party seeking reconsideration of the system-average methodology
could request that the Commission open a separate proceeding dedicated to that issue. Id. The
Commission also recognized that any alternative methodology, including one based on directly
assigning actual O&M costs, warrants careful examination and consideration of its broader
regulatory and operational impacts before being adopted.Id.
NOTICE OF PETITION
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that the Petitioner requested the Commission re-examine
the Company's system-average methodology used to calculate Schedule 72 O&M charges for
PURPA QFs. Petition at 2.
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the Petitioner claims that the methodology
currently employed is inconsistent with the law because the interconnection charges are not
derived from the actual incremental O&M expenses attributable to a specific QF.Id. The Petitioner
also claims that the methodology improperly includes costs that the Company would have incurred
even in the absence of the interconnection and fails to satisfy PURPA's requirement that ratepayers
be held financially neutral. Id. The Petitioner objects the Company's methodology of calculating
the O&M charges using system-wide averages and generalized assumptions, despite
acknowledging that it does not maintain records of actual O&M expenses for individual
interconnections in a manner that allows those costs to be independently verified. Id.
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the Petitioner requests the Commission re-examine
the Company's Schedule 72 O&M methodology, as contemplated in Order No. 36894; determine
that the Company may not continue to justify Schedule 72 O&M charges solely through a system-
average methodology; require the Company to develop and maintain accounting sufficient to
identify direct-assigned actual O&M costs by facility, together with any legitimate shared
administrative or overhead costs associated with interconnection maintenance, and to justify any
allocation of such shared costs; and require that any future Schedule 72 O&M charges be tied to
actual excess interconnection costs, consistent with 18 C.F.R. § 292.101 and the principles
recognized by this Commission in Order No. 15746.Id. at 23.
NOTICE OF PETITION
NOTICE OF INTERVENTION DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 37097 2

YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the Petition is available for public inspection
during regular business hours at the Commission's office. The Petition is also available on the
Commission's website at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on the "ELECTRIC" icon, select "Open
Cases," and click on the case number as shown on the front of this document.
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that all proceedings in this case will be held pursuant
to the Commission's jurisdiction under Title 61 of the Idaho Code, and that all proceedings in this
matter will be conducted pursuant to the Commission's Rules of Procedure, IDAPA 31.01.01.000
et seq.
NOTICE OF INTERVENTION DEADLINE
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that persons desiring to intervene in this matter to
obtain parties' rights of participation must file a Petition to Intervene with the Commission
pursuant to this Commission's Rules of Procedure 72 and 73, IDAPA 31.01.01.072 and -.073.
Persons who wish to intervene as a party must file a Petition to Intervene no later than 21
days after the date of service of this Order. Such persons shall also provide the Commission
Secretary with their email address to facilitate further communications. After the intervention
deadline runs, the Commission Secretary shall issue a Notice of Parties that identifies the parties
and assigns exhibit numbers to each parry. Once the Notice of Parties has issued, Commission
Staff shall informally confer with the Company and any intervening parties about how to further
process this case and shall then report back to the Commission on a proposed case schedule.
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that persons who would like to present their views
without parties' rights of participation and cross-examination do not have to intervene but may
present their views by submitting written comments to the Commission.
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the following people are designated as the
Petitioner's representatives in this matter:
Tom Arkoosh
Nicholas Erekson
Arkoosh Law Offices
913 W. River St., Suite 450
P.O. Box 2900
Boise, ID 83701
tom.arkoo shkarkoosh.com
nick.erekson(d,arkoo sh.com
erin.cecil(2 arkoo sh.com
NOTICE OF PETITION
NOTICE OF INTERVENTION DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 37097 3

ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that persons desiring to intervene in this matter must file a
Petition to Intervene no later than 21 days from the service date of this Order. Once the deadline
has passed, the Commission Secretary shall prepare and issue a Notice of Parties.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that,after the Notice of Parties has issued, Commission Staff
shall confer with the parties regarding a procedural schedule for this matter including,if necessary,
a hearing in this matter.
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that parties comply with Order No. 35375, issued April 21,
2022. Generally, all pleadings should be filed with the Commission electronically and will be
deemed timely filed when received by the Commission Secretary.See Rule 14.02. Service between
parties should continue to be accomplished electronically when possible. However, voluminous
discovery-related documents may be filed and served on CD-ROM or a USB flash drive.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 13th day of
July 2026.
G
EDWARD LODGE, PR IDENT
J R. HAMMOND JR., COMMISSIONER
IDAYN HA DIE, COMMISSIONER
ATTEST:
Mia ' anchez
Commission Secretary
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NOTICE OF PETITION
NOTICE OF INTERVENTION DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 37097 4