20220323Final_Order_No_35352.pdf

ORDER NO. 35352 1

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
March 23, 2022

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF AVISTA UTILITIES
PETITION FOR AN EXTENSION TO FILE
ITS 2023 ELECTRIC INTEGRATED
RESOURCE PLAN
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CASE NO. AVU-E-22-01

ORDER NO. 35352

On January 4, 2022, Avista Corporation d/b/a Avista Utilities (“the Company”)
petitioned the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”) for a two-month extension to
file its 2023 electric integrated resource plan (“IRP”)—changing the filing date to June 1, 2023,
rather than April 1, 2023.
On February 2, 2022, the Commission issued a Notice of Petition setting comment
deadlines for the Company and interested persons. See Order No. 35307. On February 24, 2022,
Staff filed the only comments in the matter.
Now, the Commission issues this final Order granting the Company’s Petition,
allowing the Company to file its 2023 IRP by June 1, 2023.
BACKGROUND
The IRP is a public process to identify and evaluate various energy resource options to
meet future customer load requirements and indicate potential shortfalls. Petition at 2. Order No.
22299 requires the Company to submit its electric IRP to the Commission every two years. As
such, the Company’s next IRP is required to be filed on or before April 1, 2023. Id.
The Company uses All-Source Request for Proposals (“RFP”) to comply with Purchase
of Resource (“PoR”) rules in Washington. See WAC 480-107. The Company’s 2022 Draft All-
Source RFP is scheduled to be released in the first quarter of 2022 and is scheduled to be completed
in the fourth quarter of 2022. Petition at 2-3. Because of this schedule, the Company requested a
two-month extension to file its IRP with the Commission “in order to provide enough time for the
conclusion of its 2022 [RFPs]. . . [which] enables any changes in resource acquisitions that may
impact IRP modeling . . ..” Id. The Company stated that without the completed Draft All-Source
RFP, the IRP modeling results would be premature and incomplete. Id. at 3.

ORDER NO. 35352 2
STAFF COMMENTS
Staff reviewed the Company’s Petition and recommended the Commission approve the
two-month extension for three reasons: (1) including the RFP results would result in a more
accurate resource plan; (2) the inclusion would allow Technical Advisory Committee (“TAC”)
members additional time to provide input; and (3) there would be limited impact to upcoming
filings that are dependent upon the IRP. Staff Comments at 2.
1. Inclusion of the RFP Results
Staff believed that delaying the IRP filing would eliminate uncertainty and overall risks
of the selected resources and their costs—thereby producing a more accurate and complete plan.
Id. Without delaying the IRP filing, Staff believed that the Company may have to speculate in its
IRP model which may cause increased risk or inaccurate resource evaluations. Id.
2. TAC Input
With public meetings scheduled throughout 2022 and 2023, Staff reasoned that if the
Commission did not allow the Company to delay its IRP filing, the Company would not be able to
take full advantage of TAC’s input and expertise prior to filing its 2023 IRP—which may
underserve customers. Id. at 3. Thus, Staff believed it would be appropriate to delay the IRP filing
to allow the Company time to evaluate TAC’s input on the RFP and resulting IRP. Id.
3. Related IRP Cases
Staff recognized that the IRP delay might also delay the update of the First Capacity
Deficiency Date (“Deficiency Date”) used for avoided cost pricing under both the Surrogate
Avoided Resource Method and the IRP Method. Id.; see also Order Nos. 33917 and 34649.
However, Staff believed a delayed Deficiency Date of two months would be reasonable if it
resulted in a more accurate IRP model by including the RFP results. Staff Comments at 2.
Ultimately, Staff supported a thorough development and analysis of the IRP with the
lowest cost and most risk averse analysis. Id.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DECISION
The Company is an electrical corporation and public utility as defined in Idaho Code
§ 61-119 and -129. The Commission has jurisdiction over the Company and the issues in this case
under Title 61 of the Idaho Code, including Idaho Code § 61-501. We find it reasonable to extend
the Company’s IRP filing date to June 1, 2023, so that the Company can include the RFP results

ORDER NO. 35352 3
and TAC’s input in its IRP model, and accordingly, produce a more thoroughly developed IRP
with optimized cost analysis and risk aversity.
O R D E R
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the Company’s Petition is granted. The Company has
until June 1, 2023, to file its 2023 IRP.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order with regard to any
matter decided in this Order. Within seven (7) days after any person has petitioned for
reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration. See Idaho Code § 61-
626.
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 23rd
day of March 2022.

ERIC ANDERSON, PRESIDENT

JOHN CHATBURN, COMMISSIONER

JOHN R. HAMMOND JR., COMMISSIONER

ATTEST:

Jan Noriyuki
Commission Secretary

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