20150309min.doc

IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

MINUTES OF DECISION MEETING

March 9, 2015 – 1:30 P.M.

In attendance were Commissioners Paul Kjellander, Mack Redford and Kristine Raper. Commissioner Kjellander called the meeting to order.

The first order of business was APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETING on Monday, March 2, 2015. The Commission voted unanimously to approve the minutes as written.

The second order of business was approval of the CONSENT AGENDA:

2. Karl Klein's March 5, 2015 Decision Memorandum re: Intermountain Gas Company's Application to Increase Its Depreciation and Amortization Rates, Case No. INT-G-14-02.
There was no discussion and Commissioner Kjellander made a motion to approve Staff’s recommendations for item 2 on the Consent Agenda. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.
The next order of business was MATTERS IN PROGRESS:
3. Daphne Huang's March 4, 2015 Decision Memorandum re: Rocky Mountain Power's Petition to Modify Terms and Conditions of PURPA Purchase Agreements and Avoided Cost Methodology, Case No. PAC-E-15-03.
4. Don Howell's March 4, 2015 Decision Memorandum re: Avista's Petition to Reduce the Length of Its PURPA Contract on an Interim and Permanent Basis Consistent with the Commission's Recent Order in an Idaho Power Case (IPC-E-15-01), Case No. AVU-E-15-01.
Ms. Huang reviewed her Decision Memo. She asked the Commission how it would like to treat Rocky Mountain Power’s case in relation to Idaho Power’s case, whether consolidation is in order and how the Commission wishes to address the interim relief requested by the company.
Commissioner Redford stated that each case has different and finite questions and he asked how staff would handle the disparate questions if the cases are consolidated—i.e. Avista would like to get into avoided cost methodology and Idaho Power just seems to want a two-year contract. Ms. Huang replied that there will be questions specific to each company and perhaps there will be a need to break off certain aspects of the petitions but at this time staff recommended consolidation to address the similar questions and perhaps address the separate questions later. Commissioner Redford stated that we might need to bifurcate some of the questions out of the consolidated cases. Ms. Huang stated that could be possible but some of the questions might be answered as the case develops.
Commissioner Kjellander noted that the company is asking for a five-year contract length and that point is up for reconsideration. He asked if it is staff’s recommendation to not address contract length in this specific order but deal with the requests for reconsideration that already exist on whether or not the Commission meant only for the SARS methodology versus the IRP methodology if we do go to five-year contracts. Ms. Huang replied there are several pending Petitions to Clarify and an informal scheduling conference was set for the following day. She said that was one of the items to be discussed at the scheduling conference and she was hopeful that following the conference they would have a better sense of what all the parties are thinking and they will be able to bring it to the Commission following the conference, so staff was not planning to address the question in the order related to case consolidation.
Commissioner Raper asked what would happen to any new intervening parties in the Avista and PacifiCorp cases, given that the scheduling conference was already set for the existing parties in the Idaho Power case for the following day. She noted that there would be 14 days to intervene once the schedule was established and if the new intervenors have any issues or concern they would also need to be addressed. Ms. Huang replied that if there are any new intervenors, and if they have an issue or concern regarding the Commission’s decision in reference to the Petitions to Clarify in the Idaho Power case, then they could also file a separate Petition. Ms. Huang said there is one other question she should have added to the Decision Memo and that is if the Commission was ready to designate all the parties in the Idaho Power case as parties in the consolidated cases, if the Commission decides to consolidate.
Commissioner Raper made a motion to consolidate the PacifiCorp and Avista cases with Idaho Power Case No. IPC-E-15-01, issue an order noting the consolidation and setting a 14-day deadline for anyone who wants to participate in reference to the Avista and PacifiCorp Petitions, and reduce the contract length to five years for both Rocky Mountain Power and Avista on an interim basis until the case is finished. Commissioner Kjellander confirmed that the motion was in reference to both items 3 and 4 on the agenda. There was no further discussion. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.There was no further business before the Commission and Commissioner Kjellander adjourned the meeting.

__________________________________ ______________________________ COMMISSION SECRETARY DATE OF APPROVAL

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