20061030Comments.pdf

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Jean Jewell
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Subject:
bcrafton~co. twin-falls. id. us
Monday, October 30, 20064:24 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Bill Crafton follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: Bill CraftonAddress: Post Office Box 5143
City: Twin Falls
State: Idaho
Zip: 83303-5143
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: bcrafton0co. twin-falls. id.
Name of Utility compa
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
I have been observing this for some time and it appears that Idaho Power just does not
want any wind generation. I support Mr. Grover s proposal and think it is ridiculous that
Idaho Power is allowed to keep changing the rules. Delay in this case is as good as denial
and will destroy the opportunity for Mr. Grover and others to move forward. One has to as
why Idaho Power waited until now to bring in the transmission up grade question when it
was expressed that sufficient was available to support the projects being proposed in thatarea.
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 216.83.79.
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Jean Jewell
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mailmark~otc.isu.edu
Monday, October 30, 20064:20 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Mark Mailhot follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: Mark MailhotAddress: 962 A McKinley Ave
Ci ty: Pocatello
State: ID
Zip: 83201
Home Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: mailmark0otc. isu. edu
Name of Utility Compa~~Idaho Power
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
I think that the attempt of the power company to pull the rug out of a renewable power
source is dirty and underhanded. The Cassia Wind project is an important step into
furthering renewable power sources and ' nipping it at the bud' as a way of decreasing
competi tion in the future is wrong.
Mark Mailhot
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 134.50.139
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Jean Jewell
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grovthan~isu.edu
Monday, October 30, 2006 3:07 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Thane Z. Grover follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-21
Name: Thane Z. GroverAddress: 1626 South 3rd Ave.
City: Pocatello
State: Idaho
Zip: 83201
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: grovthan0isu. edu
Name of Utility Compa~daho PowerAdd to Mailing List:
Please describe your question or comment briefly:
I strongly encourage the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to support the honest efforts
of Cassia by setting an efficient deadline for a decision and allowing Cassia project to
move forward. The benefits of Cassia to us Idahoans is clear (I would be glad to
elaborate if needed). I am seriously dissapointed by the actions of Idaho Power in pushing
for such a selfish and inhibiting condition.
Thank you for considering my comment, Thane Z. Grover
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 134.50.174
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Jean Jewell
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Subject:
youngrs~sylivestock. myrf. net
Monday, October 30, 2006 2: 19 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Sherman and Rosalie Young follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: Sherman and Rosalie YoungAddress: 3134 South 1900 East
City: Wendell
State: Idaho
Zip: 83355
Home Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: youngrs0sylivestock.myrf.net
Name of Utility Compa~:daho PowerAdd to Mailing List:
Please describe your question or comment briefly:
RE Cassia Wind Farms - Idaho Power
We are extremely disappointed in Idaho Power for their tactics in delaying construction ifthe wind farms in Twin Falls County. It seems they have resorted to every strategy
possible to delay the construction with the intent to eventually make it financially
impossible to pursue the proj ect. First they delayed the proj ect by saying that Cassia
was not exempt from the moratorium they imposed. When the PUC ruled otherwise, after many
months I delay, they have decided to try other schemes to deter them. Now they are asking
them to upgrade their whole transmission system, which THEY would do if other coal-fired
or natural gas plants were brought online. They are asking Cassia Wind Farms to bear an
unreasonable burden. The worst case scenario they are claiming - of overloading the
transmission system - is unlikely to occur and IF it did occur there are already other
methods in place to reduce transmission if necessary. We feel that Idaho Power is pulling
out all the stops to delay the project and using their mega size to crush the projectwithout just cause. Not only will their tactics cost Cassia in time escaped to recoup
their sizeable investment in time and money, but it will also add to the cost of turbines
and other components and it will cost the state and county thousands of dollars in tax
revenues and jobs. Wind energy is a valuable renewable energy resource and should be
developed in Idaho on a large scale as it has been done in other parts of the country.
Furthermore, the rate of 6 cents per kW is not unreasonable for Idaho Power to pay -locked in for years to come. We urge you to make a SPEEDY DECISION AND ALLOW CASSIA WIND
FARMS TO PROCEED WITHOUT FURTHER DELAY.
Sincerely,
Sherman and Rosalie Young
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 63.239.248.
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/6/30/0&
Jean Jewell
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Subject:
ronelkin~safelink. net
Saturday, October 28, 2006 5: 1 0 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Ron Elkin follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-
Name: Ron Elkin
Address: 712 east 4900 north
City: buhl
State: idaho
Zip: 83316
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: ronelkin0safelink. net
Name of Utility Company: Idaho Power
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
The IPUC must slap down Idaho power co. in its ' ongoing attempts to stonewall privatedevelopers of wind power. IP advertises for and even accepts qdditional moneys in thename of 'Green Power I yet everyone who has tried to develope this power has been
stonewalled to some extent. It is wrong to present to interested parties that IP wants
this developement when they clearly do not. Stop the manipulation. The IPUC is here toprotect the rate payer. That means, in this case, expanding energy development. The rate
payers of Idaho have said over and over they want to explore green power generation.
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 12.169.182.161
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Jean Jewell
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neilgu~mail.com
Friday, October 27 20065:16 PM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Neil Gu follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-21
Name: Neil Gu
Address: 12798 W Silverbrook Ct
City: Boise
State: ID
Zip: 83713
Home Telephone: [phone]Contact E-Mail: neilgu0mail. com
Name of Utility Comp~daho Power
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
I am interested in renewables and in saving money for myself as a ratepayer. I would
hope that the Commission be visionary as they decide on this case and look at the bigpicture. In particular, I would hope that the following points be considered:
1) I don t want to be labeled an extremist when I say that it really looks like Idaho Power
is building obstacles to stop PURPA QF' s, but by looking at the facts. I see the
following happening to the areas they control in Idaho. 10MW of wind went online in 2004(Fossil Gulch). 0 MW of wind went online in 2005, 0 MW wind online in 2006, and whereare the proj ects for 2007? Is their fate is decided in this hearing? For the 13th
windiest state, I hope this trend will soon end. I find it hard to believe that where
other utilities are gobbling up wind generation at record rates, and neighboring states
are making mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standards, that Idaho Power has only found 10MW
of available space on its system (despite what it says it plans). Looking through the
2006 IRP it looks as if Idaho Power is deciding to put up more walls for PURPA projects
when they mention in the policy section that they plan to file at the Commission to reduce
the PURPA rates, and also to take the green tags from the projects.
2) It seems that Idaho Power is really splitting hairs to try and stifle Cassia. Cassia
seems to be willing to build/upgrade a new substation and feeder lines and main lines all
the way to the shared backbone transmission grid. It makes sense that small wind
proj ects shouldn t have to worry about getting involved in building and maintaining the
shared grid of Idaho Power. Won t these improvements be used by many different customers,
and wouldn t the upgrades be needed with any new generation in the same area? Even if itwas the avoided cost surrogate resource the upgrades would be needed. The Cassia projects
are pretty much in the middle of Idaho Powers territory.
3) I would like to see generation and transmission added by Idaho Power. I think that
paying the costs today will save much money later. BPA generation is nearing its limits,
and Idaho Power will not be able to continue to rely on the market for low prices. They
need to lock in now, and they can do that by increasing generation and transmission
capaci ty. I think that not only should they try and get a lot of PURPA, but they should
be actively participating in owning wind generation in Idaho (emphasis on the IN Idaho - -
sed below) .
4) As Idaho Power needs new generation, I am willing to pay a slight premium for wind
projects that are located within Idaho, and in particular for smaller projects like CassiaGulch Wind Farm. The reason? It might seem selfish, but it is because they will put
money back in my pockets and in other ratepayers pockets. For example, the Wolverine
Creek proj ect in Idaho Falls will bring in annual property tax of well over 1 milliondollars. Based on current turbine prices, the Cassia proj ects will also bring in over
$400,000 per year. All of this goes to help pay for services that residents like myself
would otherwise pay for. Split those amounts up between Idaho residents and that is an
extra $1 in each Idahoans I pocket. The proj ects will also pay Idaho Income tax (probably
no federal tax because of PTC credits.I am sure that you are also aware that for every
10MW of capacity, 2-3 long term local jobs are usually created (smaller proj ects usually
hire more per MW) . All of this money will stay in Idaho and will benefit ratepayers likemyself.
In conclusion I support your actions to allow the Cassia proj ects to move forward by
placing the responsibility of Grid or Network upgrades on the utility. Al though I know I
will end up paying for the upgrades as a ratepayer, I can see the benefits in the biggerpicture.
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 71.221.148.169
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Jean Jewell
From:
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Subject:
todd haynes~boisestate. ed
Friday, October 27 200610:49 AM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Gene Fadness
PUC CommenUlnquiry Form
A Comment from Todd A. Haynes follows:
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Case Number: IPC-E-06-21
Name: Todd A. Haynes
Address: 310 S. Garden St.
City: Boise
State: ID
Zip: 83705
Home Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: toddhaynes0boisestate. edu
Name of Utility Comp~~ Idaho Power
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Please describe your question or comment briefly:
Dear Commission:
This letter concerns the complaint brought by Cassia Gulch Wind Park and Cassia Wind Farm
LLCs against Idaho Power Company.
It appears that Idaho Power Company continues to be very creative in its efforts to thwart
PURPA wind energy facilities in its service territory. First, it initiated the infamous
90/110 performance band. When that failed to prevent hopeful wind energy generators from
moving forward, it requested a moratorium on PURPA projects. While that moratorium did
not go ahead, the IPUC's decision to limit future PURPA wind projects to 100 kW (for
standard pricing) has effectively killed new PURPA proj ects. However, several proj ects
which had been deemed to be sufficiently underway were "grandfatheredn in under the oldrules (10 aMW per month)
The Cassia wind parks were grandfathered in , against Idaho Power Company s wishes. In
new effort to kill these projects (a tactic which - if the company s history is a guide -
will likely be applied to the other grandfathered proj ects), Idaho Power is attempting to
saddle these small, farmer-owned projects with a $50M+ cost: to upgrade the company
transmission lines. This after Cassia has already agreed to upgrade the local
distribution line from the proj ect to the substation.
If the SEMPRA coal plant had been not been killed by the state legislature, would Idaho
Power have required SEMPRA to upgrade transmission lines? I think not. In all likelihood
the company would have passed this cost on to the ratepayers, which is the proper course
of action. Did the company require the natural gas powered "peaking plantsn near Mountain
Home to bear the costs of upgrading its transmission lines? Will the proposed natural gas
peaking plants in Boise be required to bear similar costs? If the answer to these
questions is ", then the same logic should apply to the Cassia proj ects.
Perhaps even more importantly, time is of the essence in the Cassia case. The federal tax
credits will expire at the end of 2007. If the project is not online by that time (14
months from now), it will not be eligible for the tax credits. Without the tax credits,
the proj ect will be economically unfeasible. At the same time, turbine costs are
increasing rapidly. The Cassia proj ects were initially planned to be constructed in the
fall of 2005. Idaho Power has successfully delayed the project by more than 1 year,
causing Cassia s costs to increase significantly. A cynical view of the situation would
lead one to conclude that Idaho Power s actual motivation is to kill this (and other)
proj ect in any way possible. The company is certainly award of both factors: 1) upcoming
tax credit deadline; and 2) rapidly increasing turbine costs. It is hard to conclude that
these factors are not driving Idaho Power s efforts to saddle Cassia with the burdensome
costs of upgrading transmission lines while simultaneously dragging out this case (runningout the clock).
I urge the commission to take the following actions:
1. Be expeditious in your ruling - time is of the essence.
2. Rule in favor of the Cassia wind projects. The commission s role is to regulate theutility company, which enjoys a monopoly. Therefore the commission should not allow themulti-million dollar monopoly company to bully a small, farmer-owned project, which seeks
to add clean, reliable power at a fixed price to the grid for the benefit of all Idahoratepayers.
Sincerely,
Todd A. Haynes
Boise, Idaho
The form submited on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc/ipuc.html
IP address is 132.178.123.
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