20200608Stop B2H to IPC market prices in mid-c present-future.pdf

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TOPIC/KEYWORD: PORTFOLIOS STAFF’S DATA REQUEST NO. 33: Please see Appendix D, page 1. Given resource adequacy concerns in the Pacific Northwest, to what extent has the Company considered market prices impacting the economics of buying electric power on the market? In other words, what types of resources is the Company assuming will be available to generate power and subsequently buy at Mid-C to export power across B2H? IDAHO POWER COMPANY’S RESPONSE TO STAFF’S DATA REQUEST NO. 33: Idaho Power speaks to market price risk on page 53 and liquidity and sufficiency risk starting on page 54 of Appendix D. Idaho Power assumes that hydro, wind, solar, storage, natural gas (depending on the assumed future scenario), and other resources will be available in the future. For context, Protected Information Attachment 1 titled “July Aug Purchases NW 2016-2019”, is a summary of Idaho
Power’s firm purchases from the Pacific Northwest during the months of July and August from 2016 to 2019. Over the identified timeframe, Idaho Power purchased over 709,000 megawatt-hours (“MWh”) of firm energy from 26 different counter-parties at Mid-C. Idaho Power expects
that these counter-parties will continue to transact at Mid-C in the future and firm energy will continue to be available.
It is worth noting that intermittent renewable resources can be purchased as a firm product if the selling party takes steps to “firm” up the product. For example, Idaho Power had over 13,000 MWh of firm purchases from Avangrid Renewables from 2017-2019. Additionally, Attachment 2, titled “2025 Northwest Gen” is a summary from a 2025 heavy summer load Western Electricity Coordinating Council (“WECC”) power flow case that lists all the dispatchable resources expected to be available in 2025 in the Northwest and Canada. The total capability of all the resources is over 73,000 megawatts (“MW”) (compared to Idaho Power’s 500 MW summertime interest in Boardman to Hemmingway (“B2H”)). As discussed in the Market Sufficiency Risk section of IRP Appendix D, the Northwest and Canadian regions are winter-peaking, so surplus resource capability is available for summer demand. A 2025 list was
compiled because a base case for a year further out in the future was not readily available. Finally, Attachment 3, titled “Aurora-WECC Buildout-Resource Adequacy P16” summarizes the
incremental resource buildout for the entire WECC for the Preferred Portfolio. Please refer to the summary starting on row 81 for resource additions in the Pacific Northwest. These incremental resources, combined with the existing resources, are what is being exported out of the Pacific Northwest when purchases and sales are occurring in AURORA modeling. In aggregate, the information in the IRP and in the attachments provided in response to this request demonstrates that it is reasonable to expect there will be sufficient resources to import over the B2H line in the future. Attachment 1 produced in response to this Request contains protected information and will be provided in accordance with General Protective Order No. 20-068.