2001829_ws.doc

DECISION MEMORANDUM

TO: COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER
COMMISSIONER SMITH
COMMISSIONER HANSEN
JEAN JEWELL
RON LAW
LOUANN WESTERFIELD
BILL EASTLAKE
TONYA CLARK
DON HOWELL
LYNN ANDERSON
RANDY LOBB
DAVE SCHUNKE
BEV BARKER
GENE FADNESS
WORKING FILE
FROM:
DATE:
AUGUST 29, 2001 RE: AVU-E-01-14; AVISTA UTILITIES’ POWER CURTAILMENT, COORDINATION, AND COMMUNICATION PLAN

On August 17, 2001, Avista Corporation filed its Power Curtailment, Coordination and Communication Plan with the Commission. The plan provides in a series of steps the process for Avista to curtail energy use of its customers in the event of emergencies. Idaho Code § 61-531 requires all electric corporations to maintain a plan for the curtailment of electric or gas consumption during an emergency. Idaho Code § 61-532 requires the Commission to review the plan, specifically considering the consistency of the plan with the public health, safety and welfare, the technical feasibility of implementing the plan, and the effectiveness with which the plan minimizes the impact of any curtailment
Avista’s plan provides 13 steps through which the Company first identifies the problem and in the final steps returns the energy situation back to normal. As the situation escalates through the steps, Avista will provide information to the media and the public and begin curtailment of energy to customers. For example at step 4, Avista will initiate curtailment of its own non-essential energy use. At step 5, Avista notifies its industrial and commercial customers who have non-firm (interruptible) power contracts that they are required to curtail all such loads. At step 6, all customers are asked to voluntarily curtail all non-essential uses. Through step 8, Avista intensifies its requests for voluntary curtailment prior to mandatory curtailment of power. At step 12, Avista will commence curtailment by feeder (systematic rolling blackouts of predetermined feeders for a specified period of time, e.g., 30-minute blackouts).
As with recent curtailment plans filed by Idaho Power and PacifiCorp, Staff recommends the Commission issue a notice of the filing of Avista’s curtailment plan and process its approval by Modified Procedure, providing a 28-day comment period.
Commission Decision
Should the Commission issue a Notice of Filing of power curtailment plan by Avista Corporation, and process it by Modified Procedure with a 28-day comment period?

vld/M:AVU-E-01-14_ws

DECISION MEMORANDUM 2