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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20210902IPC to Sierra Club 13-27.pdfntmloNp561 a AnID OonP@mpany September 2,2021 VIA ELECTRONIC FILING Jan Noriyuki, Secretary ldaho Public Utilities Commission 11331 W. Chinden Blvd., Bldg 8, Suite 201-A(83714) PO Box 83720 Boise, ldaho 83720-0074 Re Case No. IPC-E-21-17 ln the Matter of ldaho Power Company's Application for Authority to Increase Its Rates for Electric Service to Recover Costs Associated with the Jim Bridger Power Plant Dear Ms. Noriyuki: Enclosed for electronic filing, pursuant to Order No. 35058, please find ldaho Power Company's Response to the Second Production Request of Sierra CIub to ldaho Power Company. Due to the voluminous nature of confidential and non-confidential information provided in response to data requests in this case, the Company is posting the attachments to these requests to the secure FTP site to allow parties to view the requested information remotely. Because certain attachments contain confidential information, the FTP site is divided between confidentialand non-confidential information. The Iogin information for the non-confidential portion of the FTP site was provided to all parties on July 21, 2021, and the login information for the confidential portion was provided to those parties that executed the Protective Agreement in this matter on July 21,2021. lf you have any questions about the attached filing, please do not hesitate to contact me. Very truly yours, LISA D. NORDSTROU Lead Couneel lnordstrom@idahopower.com LDN:sg Enclosures X*!.(^1,t,-*, Lisa D. Nordstrom LISA D. NORDSTROM (lSB No. 5733) ldaho Power Company 1221West ldaho Street (83702) P.O. Box 70 Boise, Idaho 83707 Telephone: (208) 388-5825 Facsimile: (208) 388-6936 Inordstrom@ idahopower. com Aftorneys for Idaho Power Company BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF THE IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES FOR ELECTRIC SERVICE TO RECOVER COSTS ASSOCIATED WTH THE JlM BRIDGER PISNT CASE NO. !PC-E-21-17 IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) COMES NOW ldaho Power Company ("ldaho Power" or "Company"), and in response to the Second Set of Production Requests of Sierra Club to ldaho Power dated August 13,2021, herewith submits the following information: IDAHO PO\A/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB . 1 REQUEST NO. 13: Please identify the current undepreciated plant balance for each unit at the Jim Bridger coal plant. lf this information has been provided in ldaho Power's application, please indicate where in the application this information can be found. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 13: Please see ConfidentialAttachment 1 to the Company's Response to the lndustrial Customer's of ldaho Power's ("lClP") First Production Request No. 1. The undepreciated plant balance, or net book value, can be found on the Existing Plant NBV tab. Please note, although ldaho Power's property accounting records have not been maintained at the unit level for the steam production plants, PacifiCorp's provides asset balances by plant account and unit. Therefore, the Company estimated the net book value of the Bridger assets by unit based on PacifiCorp's percentage of Bridger assets by unit as compared to the total Bridger assets. This calculation is performed on the Existing Plant NBV tab. The response to this Request is sponsored by Matt Larkin, Revenue Requirement Senior Manager, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 2 REQUEST NO. 14: Please describe the proposed depreciation schedule for each unit of the Jim Bridger plant by year through 2030 or unti! the plant balance reaches $0. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 14: ldaho Power's proposed levelized revenue requirement mechanism includes a depreciable life for all Bridger units and common facilities of year-end 2030. The response to this Request is sponsored by Matt Larkin, Revenue Requirement Senior Manager, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 3 REQUEST NO. 15: PIease indicate whether any current coal supply agreements for each unit at the Jim Bridger plant will be in effect beyond 2030. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 15: Please see the Company's Response to Sierra Club's Request No. 3. The response to this Request is sponsored by Randy Henderson, Principal Joint Projects Coordinator, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO PO\A/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB .4 REQUEST NO. 16: PIease indicate whether the Company anticipates that it will enter into a coal supply agreement for each unit of the Jim Bridger plant before 2030 that extends beyond 2030. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. {6: ldaho Power is not currently a party to any coal supply agreements that extend beyond 2030 and does not anticipate making fuel commitments that extend beyond the date it exits the plant. The response to this Request is sponsored by Randy Henderson, Principal Joint Projects Coordinator, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB .5 REQUEST NO. 17: Please identiff the date on which ldaho Power decided to move forward with the SCR emission contro! systems for Jim Bridger Units 3 and 4 and any associated actions that committed ldaho Power to the project. a. Confirm or deny: !n May 2013,ldaho Power and PacifiCorp signed a Limited Notice to Proceed ("LNTP") with the contractors of the SCR systems. lf denied, please explain. b. Confirm or deny: In December 2013, ldaho Power and PacifiCorp signed a Fina! Notice to Proceed ("FNTP") with the contracts of the SCR systems. lf denied, please explain. : a. On May 31,2013, PacifiCorp executed the Turnkey Contract for Engineering, Procurement and Construction Services for Selective Catalytic Reduction System Project for Jim Bridger Plant Units 3 and 4 with Babcock and \Mlcox Power Generation Group, lnc. ("BWPGG') and the Perry Group, Ltd. ('EPC Contract"), which included a Limited Notice to Proceed provision. Idaho Power did not sign the EPC Contract. b. ln December 2013, PacifiCorp authorized BWPGG and the Perry Group, Ltd. a Full Notice to Proceed ("FNTP") with the Selective Catalytic Reduction ("SCR") installations for Bridger Units 3 and 4. The Company did not sign the FNTP. The response to this Request is sponsored by Ryan Adelman, Vice President of Power Supply, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO PO\A/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB .6 REQUEST NO. 18: Please provide a complete, unredacted copy of the Company's Coal Unit Environmental Investment Analysis supporting the decision to install SCRs on Bridger Units 3 and 4 RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 18: Please see Attachment 1 for the Coal Unit Environmental lnvestment Analysls filed with the Commission on February 14, 2013, as part of the 201 1 IRP Update in Case No. IPC-E-11-11. Also attached is ConfidentialAttachment2, the Coal Environmental Compliance Upgrade lnvestment Evaluation performed by SAIC ("SAIC study"), which was used in preparation of the Coal Unit Environmental Investment Analysis. Due to the voluminous nature of confidential and non-confidential information provided in response to previous data requests in this case, ldaho Power provided parties access to an FTP site where copies of all confidential and non-confidential responses can be found. Attachment 1 can be found in the non-confidential portion of that site and Confidentia! Attachment 2 can be found in the confidential portion of that site. The response to this Request is sponsored by Ryan Adelman, Vice President of Power Supply, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 7 REQUEST NO. 19: Refer to Mr. Adelman's Direct Testimony at 19:8-15. Please provide a complete, unredacted copy of the referenced updated Bridger analysis. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 19: Please see Attachment 1, the Appendix C - Technical Report to the 2015lRP filed in Case No. IPC-E-15-19. The updated Bridger analysis referenced in Mr. Adelman's testimony begins on page 121. Due to the voluminous nature of confidential and non-confidential information provided in response to previous data requests in this case, ldaho Power provided parties access to an FTP site where copies of all confidential and non-confidential responses can be found. Attachment 1 can be found in the non-confidentia! portion of that site. The response to this Request is sponsored by Ryan Adelman, Vice President of Power Supply, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POIA/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB .8 REQUEST NO. 20: Please indicate whether ldaho Power completed any other analyses, beyond those identified in SC 18 and 19, demonstrating that installing SCRs on Jim Bridger Units 3 and 4 would be a net benefit for ldaho Power customers contemporaneous or subsequent to the Company's Coa! Unit Environmental lnvestment Analysis submitted as part of its June 28,2013 application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity, including any analyses conducted after the start or completion of construction. a. lf so, please provide such analyses. b. lf so, please identiff the date when such analyses were completed. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 20: ldaho Power did not complete any further analysis beyond those identified in Request Nos. 18 and 19 regarding the costs and benefits of installing SCRs on Bridger Units 3 and 4. However, in addition to the 2011 and 2015 comprehensive analyses, the Company continually monitored the actual project costs as compared to budgeted amounts. Over the course of the project, ldaho Power reported quarterly to the Commission that the project remained on time and under budget. The response to this Request is sponsored by John Carstensen, Joint Projects Leader, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB .9 REQUEST NO. 21: Please provide a schedule of capital spending, by month, at each Jim Bridger SCR project as projected in or around June 2013. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 21: A schedule of capital spending, by month, for the Bridger Unit 3 and 4 SCR project was not prepared in or around June 2013. However, in support of the Commitment Estimate included as part of the request for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity in Case No. !PC-E-13-16, the Company did prepare an annual forecast of expenditures by unit, which is included as Confidential Attachment 1. Actual expenditures and Allowance for Funds Used During Construction ("AFUDC") charges, as of May 30, 2013, can be found on the U3 actuals and U4 actuals tabs. The Summary tab computes an estimate of the monthly AFUDC charges for the June 1,2013, through March 31,2016, time period based on forecasted capital spend. Finally, the Commitment Estimate tab presents the total estimated Bridger Unit 3 and 4 SCR project capital spend, by category, as of June 2013, and as presented in Case No. IPC-E-13-16. Due to the voluminous nature of confidential and non-confidential information provided in response to previous data requests in this case, Idaho Power provided parties access to an FTP site where copies of all confidential and non-confidential responses can be found. ConfidentialAttachment 1 can be found in the confidential portion of that site. The response to this Request is sponsored by Matt Larkin, Revenue Requirement Senior Manager, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO PO\A/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 1O REQUEST NO. 22: Please provide a schedule of capital spending, by month, at each Jim Bridger SCR project as incurred. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 22: ldaho Power does not have a schedule of capital spending, by month, for each Bridger SCR project. However, as directed by Order No. 32929, the Company submitted to the Commission quarterly reports that included actual expenditures and remaining forecasted expenditures by Bridger SCR project and cost category. ln addition, the report included a calculation of the variance between the then current estimated costs and the original estimated costs. Please see ConfidentialAttachment 1 for the quarterly expenditure reports filed with the Commission beginning with the quarter-ending March 31,2014, through December 31,2016. The expenditure reports are summarized bythe same cost categories presented in the Response to Request No. 21. Due to the voluminous nature of confidential and non-confidential information provided in response to previous data requests in this case, ldaho Power provided parties access to an FTP site where copies of all confidential and non-confidential responses can be found. Confidential Attachment 1 can be found in the confidential portion of that site. The response to this Request is sponsored by Maft Larkin, Revenue Requirement Senior Manager, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POV\IER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB . 11 REQUEST NO. 23: Please refer to Mr. Adelman's Direct Testimony at 19:11- 15. Please indicate whether the Company relied on natural gas Official Forward Price Curves ("OFPC') to determine that the Jim Bridger SCR installation was least-cost compared to shuttering Units 3 and 4 and replacing that generation with a combined- cycle combustion turbine resource. a. Please indicate whether Idaho Power produced any OFPCs or instead relied upon OFPCs produced by PacifiCorp. b. lf ldaho Power produced its own OFPCS, please indicate which ldaho Power employee was responsible for the production of gas price forecasts relied upon by the Company and whether that employee is still employed by ldaho Power. c. lf ldaho Power produced its own OFPCS, please provide each OFPC produced by ldaho Power between December 2011 and December 2016, inclusive. d. !f ldaho Power relied upon OFPCs produced by PacifiCorp, please provide each OFPC produced by PacifiCorp between December 2011 and December 2016, inclusive. : a. ldaho Power did not produce any OFPCs or rely on OFPCs produced by PacifiCorp. lnstead, the naturalgas price forecast used in the SCR cost-effectiveness analysis referred to in Mr. Adelman's testimony is an ldaho Citygate price forecast based on the 2015lRP filed in Case No. !PC-E-15-19. For the 2015lRP, ldaho Power used the US Energy IDAHO PO\A/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 12 lnformation Administration naturalgas price forecast. Idaho Power applies a Sumas basis and transportation cost to the Henry Hub price to derive an ldaho Citygate price. The ldaho Citygate price is representative of the gas price delivered to ldaho Power's natural gas plants. The ldaho Citygate price forecast is provided in Appendix F Technical Appendix of the Company's 2015!RP. b. See ldaho Power's response to "a" above. c. See ldaho Power's response to "a" above. d. See ldaho Power's response to "a" above. The response to this Request is sponsored by Jared Hansen, Resource Planning Leader, Idaho Power Company. IDAHO PO\A/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 13 REQUEST NO. 24: Please describe any Bridger mine assumptions made when evaluating the economics of installing SCRs on Bridger Units 3 and 4. a. Confirm or deny: The Company contemplated a four-unit and two-unit fueling plan for the Bridger mine when determining whether to install SCRs on Bridger Units 3 and 4. b. lf confirmed, provide any underlying workbooks as used supporting the cost of coal, with formulae intact and unlocked, including the mining plan for Bridger Coa! Company and projected costs of coal from Black Butte. c. ldentiff the date of the end of life for the Bridger Coal Company surface mine in the analysis underlying the Bridger SCR assessment d. ldentiff the date of the end of life for the Bridger Coal Company underground mine in the analysis underlying the Bridger SCR assessment. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 24: ldaho Power's response below discusses the Bridger mine and fueling assumptions included in the SCR cost- effective analysis provided in Appendix *TechnicalAppendix of the Company's 2015 tRP. a. Yes, ldaho Power contemplated both a four-unit and two-unit fueling plan for the Bridger mine when determining whether to install SCRs on Bridger Units 3 and 4. A four-unit Bridger fueling plan was referred to as Option 1 in the SCR cost-effectiveness analysis completed as part of the 2015 IRP and a two-unit fueling plan was referred to as Option 2. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 14 The plans considered forecasted volumes and prices tor 2015-2034 from Bridger Coal Company ('BCC') and developed during the annual budgeting cycle in late 2014. Fueling requirements from Black Butte were also considered for the forecast. The Black Butte volume and prices used in the fuel forecast were derived from the Company's system Operations Plan forecasting process. Volumes and prices from BCC and Black Butte were combined to develop a comprehensive fuel cost forecast to the Bridger plant for the 2015-2034 period. For the four-unit operating option (Option 1), these projected fuel costs for Bridger Units 3 and 4 were included in the analysis. Coalfuel costs were excluded from Option 2, which considered Units 3 and 4 being replaced with an equivalently rated gas-fired combined-cycle combustion turbine. b. ConfidentialAttachment 1 details the fuelforecast included in the SCR cost-effective analysis and the underlying BCC mine plan budget for BCC that was used. c. Production from the BCC surface mine was assumed to cease on December 31,2037, in the mine plan used for the SCR cost- effectiveness analysis. d. Production from the BCC underground mine was assumed to cease on December 31,2023, in the mine plan used for the SCR cost- effectiveness analysis. Due to the voluminous nature of confidential and non-confidential information IDAHO PO\A/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 15 provided in response to previous data requests in this case, ldaho Power provided parties access to an FTP sitewhere copies of allconfidentialand non-confidential responses can be found. GonfidentialAttachment 1 can be found in the confidentia! portion of that site. The response to this Request is sponsored by Randy Henderson, Principal Joint Projects Coordinator, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRACLUB.16 REQUEST NO. 25: Confirm or deny: On or around October 2013, the Bridger Coal Company produced a revised mine plan. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 25: BCC produced a mine plan in the fall of 2013 that was used for budgeting and planning purposes by ldaho Power. At least annually, the mine produces a life of mine plan. The response to this Request is sponsored by Randy Henderson, Principa! Joint Projects Coordinator, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POVVER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SETOF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 17 REQUEST NO. 26: Please provide the Bridger mine October 2013 mine plan from the Bridger Coal Company. ldentiff specific features revised from the mine plan and fueling strategy informing the Bridger SCR assessment. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 26: A comparison of the BCC specific fueling forecasts and mine budgets used in the SAIC Energy, Environment & lnfrastructure, LLC ('SA|C") Study, provided as ConfidentialAttachment 2 to the Company's Response to Request No. 18, and the mine plan budgets prepared in the fall of 2013 is provided in Confidentia! Attachment 1. The primary update to the BCC operations plan made in the Fall of 2013 was the assumption regarding the end of production life for the underground mine. ln the plan prepared in the fall of 2013, the underground mine Iife was adjusted from December 31,2037 , to December 31, 2023. Due to the voluminous nature of confidential and non-confidential information provided in response to previous data requests in this case, ldaho Power provided parties access to an FTP site where copies of all confidentia! and non-confidential responses can be found. ConfidentialAttachment 1 can be found in the confidential portion of that site. The response to this Request is sponsored by Randy Henderson, Principal Joint Projects Coordinator, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POIA/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB - 18 REQUEST NO. 27: ldentiff any assumptions made about third party coal costs prior to moving forward with the Briflger SCR installation. a. Please provide the basis and any supporting documentation for such assumptions. RESPONSE TO REQUEST NO. 27: ldaho Power did not make any different assumptions regarding third party coal costs prior to moving forward with the Bridger SCR installations other than the assumptions identified in the Response to Request Nos. 24 and 26. The response to this Request is sponsored by John Carstensen, Joint Projects Leader, ldaho Power Company. IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB . 19 Respectfrllly submitted this 2nd day of September 2021. X*!-fl"*t"-*, LISA D. NORDSTROM Attorneys for ldaho Power Company IDAHO POWER COMPAhIY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRACLUB.20 I CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on the 2nd day of September 2021, I served a true and correct copy IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB upon the following named parties by the method indicated below, and addressed to the following: Commission Staff Erick Shaner Deputy Attorney General ldaho Public Utilities Commission 11331 W. Chinden Blvd., Bldg No. 8, Suite 201-A(83714) PO Box 83720 Boise, lD 83720-0074 lndustria! Gustomer of ldaho Power Peter J. Richardson RICHARDSON ADAMS, PLLC 515 North 27th Street (83702) P.O. Box 7218 Boise, ldaho 83707 Dr. Don Reading 6070 Hill Road Boise, ldaho 83703 ldaho Conservation League Benjamin J. Otto Idaho Conservation League 710 N.6th Street Boise, ldaho 83701 City of Boise Ed Jewell Boise City Attorney's Office 150 N. Capitol Blvd. Boise, ldaho 83701 Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail _FA)(X Emai!: Erick.shaner@puc.idaho.qov _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mai! _Overnight Mail _FN(_ FTP SiteX Email peter@richardsonadams.com _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail F$(X EMAIL d readinq@mindsprinq.com _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail _FAXX EMAIL botto@idahoconservation.orq _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail _FN(X EMAIL ejewell@citvofboise.orq IDAHO POVVER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB .21 Clean Energy Opportunities for Idaho, lnc. Kelsey Jae Law for Conscious Leadership 920 N. Clover Dr., Boise, ldaho 83703 Michael Heckler Courtney \Mite 3778 Plantation River Drive, Suite 102 Boise, lD 83703 Sierra Club Rose Monahan Ana Boyd 2101 Webster Street, Suite 1300 Oakland, CA 94612 Micron Technology, lnc. Austin Rueschhoff Thorvald A. Nelson Austin W. Jensen Holland & Hart LLP 555 17th Street, Suite 3200 Denver, CO 80202 Jim Swier 8000 S. FederalWay Boise, lD 83707 _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail _FA)( X EMAIL kelsey@kelseyjae.com _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail _FAX X EMAIL mike@cleanenergyopportu n ities. com cou rtney@cleanenerqyopportun ities. com _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail FA)( X EMAI L rose. monahan@sierraclub.orq a na. boyd @sierrac! u b. org _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail_FA)( X EMAI L darueschhoff@hollandhart.com tnelson@holland hart. com awiensen@ holland hart. com aclee@holland hart.com glgarganoamari@hollandhart.com _Hand Delivered _U.S. Mail _Overnight Mail _FA)( X EMAIL iswier@micron.com &r.J= Stacy Gust, Regulatory Administrative Assistant IDAHO POVI/ER COMPANY'S RESPONSE TO THE SECOND SET OF PRODUCTION REQUESTS OF THE SIERRA CLUB -22