20230505AVU to Staff 119_122.pdf

AVISTA CORPORATION RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

JURISDICTION: IDAHO DATE PREPARED: 05/05/2023 CASE NO: AVU-E-23-01 / AVU-G-23-01 WITNESS: David Howell REQUESTER: IPUC RESPONDER: David Howell TYPE: Production Request DEPARTMENT: Electric Operations
REQUEST NO.: Staff-119 Supplemental TELEPHONE: [phone] REQUEST: Please provide the following documentation for the Electric Storm projects referenced by
BCJN_04 of Diluciano's Exhibit No. 9, Schedule 3. If any of the Information requested below cannot be provided or is not available, please explain why, and explain how the Company ensured the construction of these projects was completed at least cost.
a. Analysis of Need - a justification of need for the project and a cost/benefit
analysis comparing alternatives. b. Project Plan i. Initial project scope.
ii. Proposed budget.
iii. Proposed schedule. c. Requests for proposals ("RFP") i. Project requirements. ii. Specifications.
iii. Short list bidder scorecard. iv. RFP from winning bid. d. Project construction documentation including: i. Construction contract.
ii. Organizational chart.
iii. Scope document. e. Company project completion analysis i. Lessons learned. ii. Budget-to-actual comparisons for overall project and by year.
iii. Baseline schedule-to-actual schedule comparison. iv. For any actual costs differing from the budget amount by plus or minus five percent during a particular year, please list and explain the reason(s) for the budget amount difference.
RESPONSE: See also Avista’s response to Staff_DR_094. The Electric Storm Business Case was one of the business cases discussed while Commission Staff was on-site the week of April 24, 2023 through April 27, 2023.
a. Analysis of Need: The Electric Storm Business Case is focused on restoring Avista’s transmission, substation, and distribution systems (damaged plant) into serviceable condition during and immediately following a weather storm event or other natural disaster where assets are damaged. These storm events are random and often occur with short
notice. This Business Case is to fund a rapid response to unexpected damages and outages,
so customer outages are minimized. The Business Case provides funds for replacing poles,
RECEIVED
2023 May 5, 4:51PM
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION
cross arms, conductor, transformers, and all other defined retirement units damaged during weather storm events. The damage can be due to high winds, heavy ice and snow loads,
lightning strikes, flooding, or wildfires as an example. The importance of quickly replacing
damaged facilities is vital to providing reliable service to our customers. This impacts customers in both Washington and Idaho. b. Project Plan
i. Initial project scope.
 As noted in part a. above, the Electric Storm Business Case is focused on restoring Avista’s transmission, substation, and distribution systems (damaged plant) into serviceable condition during and immediately following a weather storm event or other natural disasters where assets are
damaged. These events are random and often occur with short notice. This business case funds a rapid response to unexpected damages, so customer outages are minimized. The business case provides funds for replacing poles, cross arms, conductor, transformers, and other defined retirement
units damaged during storm events. The damage can be due to high winds,
heavy ice and snow loads, lightning strikes, flooding, or wildfires. The importance of quickly replacing damaged facilities is vital to providing reliable service to our customers. ii. Proposed budget.
 The annual budget amount is determined based on the historical average
rate of capital restoration work including restoration activity related to Major Event Days (MED’s) of relativity minor restoration impact (assuming 2-3 MEDs). Request excludes costs related to very large major event days (MEDs). Illustration No. 1 below that provides actual spend and
the associated 3-year average for 2020-2022, relative to the 2022 budget. Illustration No. 2 shows MEDs for the period January 2018 through December 2022.
Illustration No. 1: Electric Storm 3-Year Average Spend vs Budget 2020-2022

Illustration No. 2: Major Event Days (MEDs) for 2018-2022

iii. Proposed schedule
 The work that gets completed under the Electric Storm Business Case is
reactionary, not planned. Due to the unpredictability of the work, it is not feasible to have a schedule in place. However, knowing that the majority of our storms happen in the colder months, we are able to be prepared for the potential of storms during those times.
c. Requests for proposals ("RFP"): The Company uses internal crews to responds to most storm related incidents. When external resources are required, we first utilize contractors with established pricing and bid sheets that have been historically bid and/or mutual assistance or resources; in which we utilize their negotiated contract labor wages. Mutual
aid is a contracted agreement through the Western Energy Alliance that manages WRMAG
(Western Region Mutual Assistance Group). d. This is not fully applicable. Avista completes restoration consistent with our engineering standards and material requirements. Response to major events is coordinated through an
Emergency Operating Plan (EOP) structure to ensure the timely response of all customers experiencing an outage during extreme weather events. e. The Company will supplement this portion of the response as soon as available.
SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSE 05/05/2023: e. Company project completion analysis:
i. Numerous projects are completed in response to an electric storm event. For large storm
responses Avista completes an after-action review to ensure that lessons learned are incorporated into future storm response activities. In addition, Avista supports an
Unplanned Outage team that looks to identify and make improvements in the customer experience related to unplanned outages on the system. They incorporate information from
the after-action reviews to improve future storm response.
ii. – iv. Related to budgets and actual spending within the storm response business case, the electric operations round table, chaired by the Director of Electric Operations, reviews the actual spend on a monthly basis and makes adjustments to the budget based on the actual
quantity and severity of storms that are experienced within the year. This business case transfers to plant monthly as work is used and useful as it’s completed following storm events. See the information above for variability between budgeted and actual amounts. As noted above the work included for Electric Storm is reactionary, not planned, and variability is expected due to the unpredictability of storm activity.

AVISTA CORPORATION RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INFORMATION

JURISDICTION: IDAHO DATE PREPARED: 05/05/2023 CASE NO: AVU-E-23-01 / AVU-G-23-01 WITNESS: Josh DiLuciano REQUESTER: IPUC RESPONDER: Mark Gabert TYPE: Production Request DEPARTMENT: Asset Maintenance
REQUEST NO.: Staff-122 Supplemental TELEPHONE: [phone]
REQUEST:
Please provide the following documentation for the Wood Pole Management projects referenced
by BCJN_09 of DiLuciano's Exhibit No. 9, Schedule 3. If any of the information requested below cannot be provided or is not available, please explain why, and explain how the Company ensured the construction of these projects was completed at least cost. a. Analysis of Need - a justification of need for the project and a cost/benefit analysis
comparing alternatives.
b. Project Plan i. Initial project scope. ii. Proposed budget. iii. Proposed schedule.
c. Requests for proposals ("RFP")
i. Project requirements. ii. Specifications. iii. Short list bidder scorecard. iv. RFP from winning bid.
d. Project construction documentation including:
i. Construction contract. ii. Organizational chart. iii. Scope document. iv. Work breakdown structure.
v. Baseline Schedule.
vi. Monthly project status report(s). vii. Action items list(s). viii. Contractors change order request(s). e. Company project completion analysis
i. Lessons learned.
ii. Budget-to-actual comparisons for overall project and by year. iii. Baseline schedule-to-actual schedule comparison. iv. For any actual costs differing from the budget amount by plus or minus five percent during a particular year, please list and explain the reason(s) for the budget
amount difference.
RESPONSE: See also Avista’s response to Staff_DR_094.
The Wood Pole Management Business Case was one of the business cases discussed while
Commission Staff was on-site the week of April 24, 2023 through April 27, 2023.
SUPPLEMENTAL RESPONSE 05/05/2023: Please see Avista's response 122C, which contain TRADE SECRET, PROPRIETARY or
CONFIDENTIAL information and are separately filed under IDAPA 31.01.01, Rule 067 and
233, and Section 9-340D, Idaho Code. a. Wood Pole Management is an ongoing Program that maintains Avista’s electric facilities in a safe, effective, reliable manner. Please refer to the Wood Pole Management BCJN in Company
witness Mr. Diluciano’s Testimony, Exhibit No. 9.
b. Please see the 2017 Wood Pole Management Recommendations and Review, Staff-PR-122 Supplemental Attachment A, and the Structure Specific Distribution Feeder Management Plan, Staff-PR-122 Supplemental Attachment B, for the analysis, project scope, proposed budget, and
schedule. Staff-PR-122 Supplemental Attachments C and D for the WPM work plan and pricing.
c. Please refer to the Staff-PR-122 Supplemental Attachments E, F, H and Staff_PR_122C Confidential Supplemental Attachment G, for Request for Proposal related documentation including a Statement of Work, confidential bid matrix, work plan, etc.

d. Please refer to construction documentation in the following attachments, Staff-PR-122 Supplemental Attachment I for a monthly work que. Staff-PR-122 Supplemental Attachment J for the programs monthly update. Wood Pole Management utilizes a weekly call-in meeting to discuss project progress and any action items. Most action items are resolved the same day. Change order
requests are managed with-in the unit pricing contract. The baseline schedule is inspecting and
completing the follow-up work on 1/5th of the poles in the Distribution system on an annual basis. e. Project Completion Analysis i. This is an ongoing Program and lessons learned are updated in any new RFP, LOU’s, and unit
and unit price definitions. The newest Unit pricing contract has been in place since 2022.
ii.
iii. The baseline schedule is the 20-year cycle, and we are currently on schedule to complete the cycle on time. The annual progress is documented on the Wood Pole Management One Pager.
iv. In 2021 we experienced a labor shortage which impacted our ability to completely execute
the plan.