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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20150817_4741.pdfDECISION MEMORANDUM 1 DECISION MEMORANDUM TO: COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER COMMISSIONER SMITH COMMISSIONER RAPER COMMISSION SECRETARY COMMISSION STAFF FROM: DAPHNE HUANG DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL DATE: AUGUST 5, 2015 SUBJECT: IDAHO POWER’S APPLICATION TO APPROVE SECOND AMENDMENT TO ITS POWER PURCHASE AGREEMENT WITH AGPOWER JEROME, LLC, CASE NO. IPC-E-15-21 On July 29, 2015, Idaho Power Company filed an Application asking the Commission to approve the Second Amendment to its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with AgPower Jerome, LLC. The PPA is a contract under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA). This Amendment changes the Net Energy Amount notification process, similar to the process that the Commission recently approved for Idaho Power involving six other PPAs. Idaho Power asks that the Commission approve its Application upon Staff’s review and without further process. Application at 4. BACKGROUND The Commission approved Idaho Power’s PPA with AgPower Jerome in 2010. Order No. 32138. Under the PPA, Idaho Power purchases, and AgPower sells, energy generated by the Double A digester project in Lincoln County, Idaho. Id. at 1. The Double A is a qualifying facility (QF) under PURPA. See Application at 1. In 2014, the Commission approved a first amendment to the PPA to change the definition of “Mid-Columbia Market Energy Cost,” consistent with Order No. 33053. Order No. 33184. PROPOSED AMENDMENT In this second amendment, Idaho Power and AgPower propose a change in the Net Energy Amount notification process, allowing monthly rather than quarterly updates. Application at 2. Specifically, the proposed second amendment changes paragraph 6.2 of the PPA “to allow [AgPower] to adjust the ‘Initial Year Monthly Net Energy Amounts’ on a monthly, rather than quarterly, basis.” Application at 3. Under the amendment, AgPower “can DECISION MEMORANDUM 2 submit future revisions on a monthly basis, with a minimum of 30 days notice prior to the beginning of the next month, rather than once every three months.” Id. Idaho Power indicates that, with this change, AgPower “gains more clarity and flexibility in adjusting its estimated energy deliveries and Idaho Power maintains the stability in the estimates necessary for its planning and operation.” Id. The Commission recently approved six PPAs between Idaho Power and other QFs that include the same notification provision. Order Nos. 33102, 33103, 33104, 33156, 33191, and 33240; Application at 2. In Order No. 33102, the Commission stated, “we find that monthly, as opposed to quarterly, reporting of energy generation estimates is a reasonably negotiated term between the parties and not inconsistent with the Commission’s [earlier] guidance and findings.” Order No. 33102 at 6; Application at 3. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Given the limited scope of the amendment, and consistent with the Commission’s prior Orders, as cited above, Staff recommends that the request be approved without further process. COMMISSION DECISION Does the Commission wish to approve the Application without further process? Daphne Huang Deputy Attorney General M:IPC-E-15-21_djh Daphne Huang