20191126_dh1.pdf

DECISION MEMORANDUM
TO:COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER
COMMISSIONER RAPER
COMMISSIONER ANDERSON
COMMISSION SECRETARY
COMMISSION STAFF
LEGAL
FROM:DAYN HARDIE
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL
DATE:NOVEMBER 20,2019
SUBJECT:ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER’S 2019 ELECTRIC INTEGRATED
RESOURCE PLAN;CASE NO.PAC-E-19-16
On October 25,2019,PaciflCorp dba Rocky Mountain Power (“Company”)filed its
2019 Electric Integrated Resource Plan (“20]9 IRP”or “IRP”)pursuant to Commission Order No.
22299.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN’S 2019 IRP
The Company’s 2019 IRP was developed through comprehensive analysis and public
input.Rocky Mountain 2019 IRP at I.The 2019 IRP preferred portfolio includes accelerated coal
retirements and investment in transmission infrastructure that will facilitate the addition of nearly
11,000 Megawatts (“MW”)of new renewable resources,plus the deployment of new technologies,
during the 20-year planning period.Id.
The primary objective of the Company’s 2019 JRP is to identify the best mix of
resources to serve customers going forward.Id.at 5.The best mix of resources is identified through
analysis that measures both cost and risk.Id.The least-cost,least-risk resource portfolio—defined
as the “preferred portfolio”—is the portfolio that can be delivered through specific action items at
a reasonable cost and with manageable risk,while considering customer demand for clean energy
and ensuring compliance with state and federal regulatory objectives.Id.
The Company’s Filing states,“the 2019 IRP sets forth a clear path to provide reliable
and reasonably priced service to [itsj customers.”Id.The analysis supporting the WP helps the
Company,customers,and regulators understand the effects of both near-term and long-term
resource decisions on customer bills,the reliability of electric service the Company’s customers
DECISION MEMORANDUM
receive,and changes to greenhouse gas emissions from the electricity generation assets used to
serve customers.Id.In its 2019 IRP,the Company presents a preferred portfoLio that “buiLds on its
vision to deliver energy affordably,reliably,and responsibly through near-term investments in
transmission infrastructure that will facilitate continued growth in new renewable resource
capacity over the longer-term planning horizon while maintaining substantial investment in energy
efficiency.”Id.
The Company’s 2019 IRP includes investment in new resource technologies
including—renewables,storage,and modern grid technology.Id.at 4.It also outlines new
transmission investments across the Company’s territory needed to remove existing transmission
constraints and improve grid resilience so the lowest-cost renewable resources can be delivered to
customers.Id.
The Company’s Filing states its 2019 IRP preferred portfolio is supported by
comprehensive data analysis and an extensive stakeholder input-process.Id.at 29.The Company’s
2019 IRP preferred portfolio continues invesiments in new wind,transmission,and demand side
management,while adding significant solar and battery storage resources.Id.By 2025,the
preferred portfolio includes nearly 3,000 MW of new solar resources,3,500 MW of new wind
resources,nearly 600 MW of battery storage capacity’,860 MW of incremental energy efficiency
resources and new direct load control capacity.Id.
Over the 20-year planning horizon,the IRP preferred portfolio includes more than
4,600 MW of new wind resources,more than 6,300 MW of new solar resources,more than 2,800
MW of battery storage2,and more than 1,890 MW of incremental energy efficiency resources and
new direct load control capacity.Id.
For delivery of new renewable power to customers,the Company’s 2019 IRP preferred
portfolio also includes the construction of a 400-mile transmission line,Gateway south,connecting
southeast Wyoming with northern Utah.Id
STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Commission issue a Notice of Filing and set a 21 day
intervention deadline.Once the intervention deadline has passed,Staff will informally confer with
All storage will he combined with new solar resources.
I More than 1.100 MW of storage capacity consists of stand-alone storage resources being developed beginning in 2028.
DECISION MEMORANDUM 2
the intervening parties about further scheduling and will report their findings back to the
Commission.
COMMISSION DECISION
Does the Commission wish to issue a Notice of Filing and set a 21 day intervention
deadline?
Deputy Attorney General
I:tepAEUiCtRJOJ’AC-E-I9-Ia\nrwnWACIEI%I6_&nt,rjçdftdc..
DECISION MEMORANDUM 3