20231023Staff 1-10 to PAC.pdf

ADAM TRIPLETT
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE,IDAHO 83720-0074 MISSiON
[phone]
IDAHO BAR NO.10221
Street Address for Express Mail:
11331 W CHINDEN BLVD,BLDG 8,SUITE 201-A
BOISE,ID 83714
Attorney for the Commission Staff
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN )POWER'S APPLICATION TO UPDATE )CASE NO.PAC-E-23-20
LOAD AND GAS FORECASTS USED IN THE )INTEGRATED RESOURCE PLAN AVOIDED )COST MODEL )FIRST PRODUCTION
)REQUESTOF THE
)COMMISSION STAFF
)TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN
)POWER
Staff of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission,by and through its attorney of record,
Adam Triplett,Deputy AttorneyGeneral,requests that Rocky Mountain Power ("Company")
provide the followingdocuments and information as soon as possible,but no later than
MONDAY NOVEMBER 13,2023.
This Production Request is to be considered as continuing,and the Company is requested
to provide,by way of supplementaryresponses,additional documents that it,or any person
acting on its behalf,may later obtain that will augment the documents or information produced.
Please provide answers to each question,supporting workpapers that provide detail or are
the source of information used in calculations,and the name,job title,and telephonenumber of
the person preparing the documents.Please also identify the name,job title,location,and
telephonenumber of the record holder.
FIRST PRODUCTION REQUEST
TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER 1 OCTOBER 23,2023
In addition to the written copies provided as response to the requests,please provide all
Excel spreadsheets and electronic files with formulas intact and enabled.
REQUESTNO.1:Please explain why sales to wholesale customers under tariffs set by
the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC")are zero starting in year 2028.
REQUESTNO.2:Figure 1 below compares the 2022 system load forecast and the
2023 system load forecast.
System Load Forecast
90000
60000
_c 50000
40000
30000
20000
10000
0
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041
...2022 Load Forecast (GWh)-2023 Load Forecast (GWh)
Figure 1.System Load Forecast Comparison
Please respond to the following:
a.Please explain why the 2023 load forecast is lower than the 2022 load forecast
from 2023 through 2027;
b.Please explain why the 2023 load forecast is higher than the 2022 load forecast
from 2028 through 2039;and
c.Please explain why the 2023 load forecast is lower than the 2022 load forecast
from 2040 through 2041.
FIRST PRODUCTION REQUEST
TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER 2 OCTOBER 23,2023
REQUESTNO.3:Figure 2 below compares the 2022 load forecast and the 2023 load
forecast in Idaho.
Idaho Load Forecast
4200
4100 ...
4000 ''
3700
3600
2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041
2022 Load Forecast (GWh)---2023 Load Forecast (GWh)
Figure 2.Idaho Load Forecast Comparison
Please respond to the following:
a.Please explain and provide evidence for why the 2023 load forecast is lower than
the 2022 load forecast;and
b.Please explain and provide evidence for why the trend of the 2023 load forecast
declines while the trend of the 2022 load forecast shows growth.
REQUESTNO.4:Please identify the software(s)the Company uses to calculate
Integrated Resource Plan ("IRP")-based avoided cost of energy and avoided cost of capacity,
respectively,used to determine IRP-based avoided cost rates.Also,for the model that
determines avoided cost of energy,please confirm that the model dispatches resources to meet
the system load.
FIRST PRODUCTION REQUEST
TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER 3 OCTOBER 23,2023
REQUESTNO.5:Please respond to the followingregarding the Official Forward Price
Curve ("OFPC").
a.Please explain the overall methodology and data sources the Company uses to
determine the proposed OFPC;
b.Please confirm that the methodology used in this case is the same as the
methodology used in Case No.PAC-E-22-16.If not the same,please explain the
difference;
c.Please provide a detailed explanation how each hub's index is determined and
whether each hub's index is derived from Henry Hub's index;and
d.Please explain how the monthly OFPC containedin Appendix A of the
Application is aggregated into the proposed annual OFPC.
REQUESTNO.6:Figure 3 below compares the 2022 HenryHub forecast and the 2023
HenryHub forecast.Please explain why the 2023 HenryHub forecast is lower than the 2022
HenryHub forecast.
Henry Hub Forecast
9
8
2
1
0
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042
.....2022 Henry Hub Forecast -2023 Henry Hub Forecast
Figure 3.Henry Hub Forecast Comparison
FIRST PRODUCTION REQUEST
TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER 4 OCTOBER 23,2023
REQUESTNO.7:Figure 4 below compares the 2022 Sumas forecast and the 2023
Sumas forecast.Please explain why the 2023 Sumas forecast is higher than the 2022 Sumas
forecast,contradicting the Henry Hub's trend.
Sumas Forecast
10
2
1
0
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042
2022 Sumas Forecast -2023 Sumas Forecast
Figure 4.Sumas Forecast Comparison
FIRST PRODUCTION REQUEST
TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER 5 OCTOBER 23,2023
REQUESTNO.8:Figure 5 compares the Henry Hub forecast and the Sumas forecast
proposed in this case.Please explain why the HenryHub forecast is consistently lower than the
Sumas forecast.
Henry Hub Forecast vs.Sumas Forecast
10
1
0
2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 2033 2034 2035 2036 2037 2038 2039 2040 2041 2042
---2023 Henry Hub Forecast ··2023 Surnas Forecast
Figure 5.Henry Hub Forecast vs.Sumas Forecast
REQUESTNO.9:Page 2 of the Application states that if approved,the load forecast,
natural gas forecast,and contract information will be incorporated into the Company's IRP
avoided cost model.However,Page 6 of the Application states that new contracts,terminated or
expired contracts,as well as new contract pricing are all updated in the IRP model on a
continuous basis.Please reconcile the two practices and explain which practice the Company
conducts.
REQUESTNO.10:Table 3 on Page 7 of the Application lists "OR CSP QF PPA"
projects and "QF PPA"projects.Please explain the difference between the two types of projects.
FIRST PRODUCTION REQUEST
TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER 6 OCTOBER 23,2023
DATED at Boise,Idaho,this day of October 2023.
Adam Triplett
Deputy AttorneyGeneral
i:umisc:prodreq/PAC-E-23-20 PR#1
FIRST PRODUCTION REQUEST
TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER 7 OCTOBER 23,2023
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I HAVE THIS 23rd DAY OF OCTOBER 2023,
SERVED THE FOREGOING FIRST PRODUCTION REQUESTOF THE
COMMISSION STAFF TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER,IN CASE NO.PAC-E-
23-20,BY E-MAILING A COPY THEREOF,TO THE FOLLOWING:
MARK ALDER JOE DALLAS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
1407 WEST NORTH TEMPLE STE 330 825 NE MULTNOMAH ST
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84116 STE 2000
E-MAIL:[e-mail] PORTLAND OR 97232
E-MAIL:[e-mail]
DATA REQUEST RESPONSE CENTER
E-MAIL ONLY:
[e-mail]
SECRETARY
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE