20170719_Brandon3.pdf

DECISION MEMORANDUM 1
DECISION MEMORANDUM

TO: COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER
COMMISSIONER RAPER
COMMISSIONER ANDERSON
COMMISSION SECRETARY
COMMISSION STAFF

FROM: BRANDON KARPEN
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL

DATE: JULY 19, 2017

SUBJECT: ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER’S NEW WIND CPCN APPLICATION,
CASE NO. PAC-E-17-07

On July 3, 2017, Rocky Mountain Power applied for a Commission Order granting
Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to construct or acquire four new
Wyoming wind projects with a total combined capacity of 860 megawatts (MW). Further, the
Company requests CPCNs for several transmission facilities, portions of which are associated
with the Company’s Gateway West transmission project. The Company has also requested
approval of binding ratemaking treatment for the investment in the combined projects, in
accordance with Idaho Code § 61-541. The Company asserts that the projects will provide
significant economic benefits for the Company’s customers, and that the projects are time-
limited due largely to federal production tax credits.
The Company states that in order to qualify for the tax credits, it must complete
construction of all facilities by December 31, 2020. As such, the Company requests that the
Commission issue the requested CPCNs by March 30, 2018, in order to allow sufficient time to
complete the projects.
THE APPLICATION
There are two components of the Application: wind projects, and transmission
projects. The Company requests CPCNs for four wind projects, three nominal 250 MW
facilities, and one 110 MW facility, all located in Wyoming. The Company states that it
currently either has control over the site, or has secured access to the development and
implementation rights. The Company admits that customer benefits resulting from the
DECISION MEMORANDUM 2
acquisition of the wind projects depend on qualifying for 100% federal PTCs, which can be
demonstrated by making the projects commercially operational by December 31, 2020.
The transmission projects include the six major elements and will allow the Company
to relieve existing congestion, and interconnect existing Wyoming wind resources, and the
proposed wind projects. The Company claims that the transmission projects will increase the
transfer capability from east to west by 750 MW, and will provide critical voltage support to the
transmission system. The Company says that it has obtained a federal right-of-way permit from
the Bureau of Land Management for a line that crosses BLM lands, and that after CPCNs have
been issued by this Commission and in Wyoming, it will obtain the additional rights-of-way as
necessary.
The Company requests binding ratemaking treatment—a Resource Tracking
Mechanism (RTM), that would track benefits and costs as a component of the Energy Cost
Adjustment Mechanism (ECAM), until the combined projects are fully included in base rates.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Commission issue a Notice of Application and set an
August 8, 2017 intervention deadline. Once the intervenors to this case have been determined,
then Staff recommends that it convene an informal scheduling conference with the parties to
develop a schedule to process this case.
COMMISSION DECISION
Does the Commission wish to issue a Notice of Application, set an August 8, 2017
intervention deadline, and after that deadline, direct Staff to convene an informal conference for
the parties to discuss the appropriate scheduling of this case going forward?

M:PAC-E-17-07_bk