20040330Press Release.pdf

IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
For Immediate Release
Case No. IPC-04- 7
March 26, 2004
Contact: Gene Fadness [phone]
Website: www.puc.state.id.
Idaho Power seeks approval of sales agreement with Simplot
Boise - The Idaho Public Utilities Commission will accept comments through April 16 on Idaho Power s request that
the commission approve a 10-year energy sales agreement with l.R. Simplot Company s 15.9-megawatt cogeneration
facility at its industrial site near Pocatello.
The project generates electricity from the excess heat used in the manufacturing process at the Simplot fertilizer
plant.
The current contract, negotiated in 1991 , expired on Feb. 29. Idaho Power is asking that the proposed agreement be
effective retroactive to March 1.
For the first 10 megawatts, Idaho Power will pay Simplot the commission s published rate for all renewable projects
that qualify under the federal Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act or PURP A. One megawatt is enough to power
about 750 homes.
Passed during the energy crisis in the late 1970s , PURP A requires utilities to buy energy from qualifying small
power producers that generate power from sources other than fossil fuels. The Public Utilities Commission publishes
the rate the utilities must pay small power producers, a rate based on the cost the utility avoids by not generating the
power itself or buying it from another source. However, that published rate applies only to projects up to 10 MW in
size. For sales beyond 10 MW, Idaho Power and Simplot negotiate a price based on market prices.
The company is also asking fora commission finding that all payments for purchases of energy under this agreement
be treated as expenses for rateinaking purposes.
Further, the company asks that the agreement not be approved until the commission rules on a separate docket before
it. That docket, IPC-04-, is about the ownership of the environmental attributes or "green tags" associated with
renewable small~power projects like Simplot and several others from which Idaho Power buys energy. The green
tags are a currency that can be traded to individuals and entities wishing to support renewable or "green" energy.
They are becoming more valuable since a growing number of states are starting to require their regulated utilities to
buy or generate a certain amount of power from renewable sources.
Regional organizations, such as the Bonneville Environmental Foundation, have been created to certify projects as
green energy compliant." Power projects found to be compliant are issued green tags that can be traded.
Idaho Power is recommending that the commission allow small-power producers to retain ownership of the green
tags because it may encourage the development of additional green resources in Idaho without the need to increase
energy prices. However, Idaho Power would like to retain the "right of first refusal" to purchase the tags before
project owners offer the tags to another purchaser. The commission has yet to rule on the question.
The commission has determined that a public hearing in the Simplot matter may not be necessary and that this case
can be processed through written comments. The deadline for comments is April 16.
Persons wishing to submit comments can do so via e-mail by accessing the commission s homepage at
www.puc.state.id.and clicking on "Comments & Questions." Fill in the case number (IPC-04-7) and enter your
comments. Comments can also be mailed to P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ill 83720-0074 or faxed to [phone].
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