20061027Comments.pdf

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Jean Jewell
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drozdarl~spro. net
Friday, October 27, 20065:00 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Bob Drozda follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: Bob Drozda
Address: POB 6370
City: Boise
State: ID
Zip: 83707-6370
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: drozdarl~spro. net
Name of Utility Company: Idaho Power
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
The case should be decided as quickly as possible.required.A drawn out hearing should not be
Cassia was originally trying to build the proj ects by the fall of 2005. It is not fair for
Cassia to bear additional burden of some $700,000 in turbine cost increase, as they wait
for a policy decision of who is responsible for maintaining the Backup Transmission system
to Idaho Powers Backbone Grid.
Stonewalling seems to be occurring. Remember that Idaho Power insisted that the Cassia
proj ects were not exempt from the i ~moratorium i " or PURPA Cap on Wind proj ects filed in
June 2005. After Idaho Power had successfully delayed Cassia for months, the Commissionruled in Jan 2006 that it was exempt. Whether Idaho Power is trying to or not, It seems
they have found other means to stop, via delays, PURPA proj ects such as Cassia s from
being built.i ~ Allowing Idaho Power to use stonewalling tactics will do several things.
fO delay/ eliminate the benefits to Idaho Ratepayersfn around $300,000 per year in property taxes to Twin Falls County with over 70% going
to local schools and highway districts. Income taxes to the state are also a benefit.fn delaying proj ects ultimately leads to higher costs to developers and consumers.
Wind turbines 3 years ago were 30% cheaper than they are now.fn 6 cents a kW seems like a good rate for Idaho Power to be able to lock into for 20years. Especially when comparing it against more expensive and fluctuating natural gas,
and potentially hidden costs of coal when carbon emissions are required in the US, like
they are in Europe.fn New Idaho generation means more Idaho jobs, and a more robust economy.
fO Idaho Power should be required to pay for their own i ~Backbone System i fn Idaho Power is a growing company and will need transmission upgrades to the backbone
system for any new generation whether it be a small PURPA project, Coal fired plants, or
natural gas plants.fn The Cassia projects are willing to pay for all of the local interconnectionupgrades. These are the only costs that PURPA proj ects have ever been required to payfor.i~ includes a new substation, feeder lines, and protection packages to the tune ofseveral million dollars.fn The Backbone system is used by Idaho Power in conj unction with many differentproj ects including i ~wheeling i " for other utilitiesi~ It is quite possible for Idaho Power to earn addition revenue by wheeling more power
across their backbone network because of these upgrades.fn According to the FERC filings it appears that Idaho Power had even said it was
planning on upgrading its backbone transmission system in the area.fn There is actually room on the transmission system without any upgrades under normal
operating conditions (N-O conditions). The System impact study was run under Worst Case
N-l conditions. The assumptions of the study assumed that 1) the biggest line betweenBoise and Midpoint go down (an very rare event), and it happens 2) during the heaviest
transmission loads (springtime with heavy water flows), and 3) that the Wind at theproj ects are blowing i ~full force. i That is a lot of i ~IF' s i " and also, there are a lot
of i~how to " when it comes to addressing fixing a N-l contingency. Aside from paying
for the expensive upgrades, and depending on the actual i ~emergency i " these remedies could
include Demand Side Management responses, temporarily reducing hydro flows or energyresources, and as necessary curtailing network resources including QF wind (which, as you
may know, is already included in the PURPA contracts in case of such an emergency). These
are a few ways that protect PURPA proj ects from being responsible to pay for Idaho Power
i ~backup plan. i
fO PURPA projects that qualify, such as the Cassia projects, are paid the Avoided Cost
Rates which were determined by the Commission. These rates equal the cost of what Idaho
Power s next generation source would be (the surrogate resource which was decided to be anatural gas plant) fn Cassia should have to pay for the transmission costs IF transmission costs were
included as part of the Avoided Cost Rates.fn If transmission was not a component of the Avoided Cost Rates, and if even the new
Peaking Plants are built in places that need transmission upgrades, it is clear that Idaho
Power would be responsible to build the transmission as necessary to get the surrogate
resource online, and that they have always had the responsibility of maintaining their own
transmission system.
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 207.225.36.
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Jean Jewell
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davidblox~gmail.com
Friday, October 27 20065:19 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from DavidBloxham follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: DavidBloxhamAddress: 11178 Deerridge Drive
City: pocatelloState: id
Zip: 83202
Home Telephone:
Contact E-Mail: davidblox~gmail. com
Name of Utility Company:
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
I believe that this case should be decided as quickly as possible, it has cost Mr. Grover
alot of money in delays already. Idaho power should be required to pay for their own
backbone system. I believe that idaho power is willfully trying to undermine all windproj ects by manipulation of the puc. I hope that the puc will rule in favor of Mr. Groverand allow this proj ect to proceed as planned.
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 71.209.36.241
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Jean Jewell
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Subject:
neil.14~gmail.com
Thursday, October 26 20065:10 PM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Neil Ashcraft follows:
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Case Number:
Name: Neil Ashcraft
Address: 1307 W Greenhead Dr.
City: Meridian
State: ID
Zip: 83462
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: neil.14~gmail.com
Name of Utility Company: Idaho Power
Add to Mailing List: no
Please describe your question or comment briefly:
To whom it may concern;
I believe that wind power is a part of our future. It's an important, reliableresource that we could use to our advantage in a state like ours where it is so prevelent.I believe that Idaho Power is only abusing the system in trying to keep it from comingforth. That they are attempting to make small wind farms pay for their upgrades is not
only absurd but out of the question. Why should they have to pay for upgrades that are
not necessary for their wind farms and that Idaho Power needs to do anyways? It sounds tome like Idaho Power is stalling and in the meantime costing these small farms hundreds ofthousands of dollars while IP sits back and just keeps making more and more money. Iwould hope that we could count on our state to put an end to the Idaho Power tyranny and
help to further our future instead of stall it out. I appreciate your time. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Neil Ashcraft
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 71.209.33.
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Jean Jewell
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elysianna. crazymom~gmail. com
Thursday, October 26, 2006 5:01 PM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Elysianna Ashcraft follows:
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Case Number:
Name: Elysianna Ashcraft
Address: 1307 W Greenhead Dr
Ci ty: Meridian
State: ID
Zip: 83642
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: elysianna. crazymom~gmail. com
Name of Utility Company: Idaho Power
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
I believe that the case Idaho Power is attempting to file against Cassia Wind and other
wind proj ects is ridiculous. It is a feeble attmept to hoarde money and keep their insane
monopoly on the utility market in place. They ve driven numerous farmers out of the
business and are now trying to keep them from doing the only useful thing their land hasleft. If wind power is not THE reliable and inexpensive source of power for the future of
Idaho and many other windy states, I don t know what is. I've lived here a long time and
think that it would be nice for the wind to be useful for a change and for Idaho Power to
be put in check! Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Elysianna Ashcraft
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 71.209.33.21
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Jean Jewell
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hvsw~magiclink.com
Thursday, October 26, 2006 4:33 PM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from David Tupper follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: David Tupper
Address: 1114 E. 2700 S.
Ci ty: Hagerman
State: ID
Zip: 83332
Home Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: hvsw~magiclink. com
Name of Utility Compa~Idaho Power or Cassia Power
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
I feel that Idaho Power should build it's own Backbone Supply line. Idaho needs theextra power generated by these wind projects. With all the talk in the short past about
coal plants in the magic valley, it was never brought up about having to upgrade the
backbone supply line. This is a stall tactic by IP to try and dissuade wind energy.Your position is to do what's right for Idaho, not Idaho Power!! Let's get off ourbutts' and get producing some green energy. There is a 43 tower wind proj ect in IdahoFalls. Their system works just fine with current supply lines. Let's get these windproj ects working with clean, wind energy. thank you David Tupper
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.htmlIP address is 70.41.222.249
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Jean Jewell
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From:
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Subject:
Izirker~yahoo.com
Thursday, October 26, 2006 3:23 PM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Larry Zirker follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: Larry Zirker
Address: 3155 Rawson
City: Ammon
State: ID
Zip: 83406
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: lzirker~yahoo. com
Name of Utility Company: Idaho Power Co
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
With the global warming and increased natural gas costs, I find it hard to understand
that the Idaho Power Co. puts road block after road block in the way of PURPA wind farms.I wish they would do something good for Idaho and help these small wind farms.
Larry Zirker
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 69.92.63.103
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Jean Jewell
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From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
zyx987xyz~yahoo.com
Thursday, October 26, 2006 9:34 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Martin Franklin follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-21
Name: Martin FranklinAddress: 3905 Mountain View Drive
City: Boise
State: Idaho
Zip: 83704
Home Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: zyx987xyz~yahoo. com
Name of Utili ty Compa Idaho Power
Add to Mailing List:
Please describe your question or comment briefly:
As we try to reduce our dependence on foreign sources of energy by developing domestic
renewable resources, it is very counter productive for Idaho Power to employ every
obstructi ve tactic they can think of to discourage development of wind power in Idaho.
Asking the developer of 38 megawatts of generation to pay $60 million for transmission
line upgrades, on the premise these upgrades are required for the full 400 megawatts being
considered for development at Bell Rapids is disingenuous at best and totally unrealistic.
I urge the commission to hear the case quickly and render a decision in favor of
developing al ternati ve sources of energy for the people of our state.
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 69.19.14.
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