20070227Motion to close docket.pdf

Peter J. Richardson
RICHARDSON & O'LEARY PLLC
515 N. 27th St
Boise, Idaho 83702
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
peter0richardsonando leary. com
Attorneys Exergy Development Group of Idaho LLC
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2001 FEB 27 Pi':j !.,: ll'
iD/,fiC, i"udt1C
UTiLITIE-S COlc ii\;ISSIc.,
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE PETITION OF
IDAHO POWER COMPANY FOR AN
ORDER TEMPORARILY SUSPENDING
IDAHO POWER'S PURPA OBLIGATION TO
ENTER INTO CONTRACTS TO PURCHASE
ENERGY GENERATED BY WIND-
POWERED SMALL POWER PRODUCTION
FACILITIES
CASE NO. IPC-05-
EXERGY DEVELOPMENT
GROUP OF IDAHO'
MOTION FOR ORDER
TO CLOSE THIS
DOCKET AND
REINSTATE THE 10 MW
THRESHOLD FOR P ACIFICORP
AND A VISTA
COMES NOW Exergy Development Group of Idaho , LLC ("Exergy ) by and through its
attorneys of record and hereby lodges its motion to close the above captioned docket and
reinstate Avista Corporation s (Avista) and PacifiCorp' d.a Rocky Mountain Power
(PacifiCorp) obligations under PURPA to their pre Order No. 28939 status. In support of this
Motion, Exergy says as follows:
Background
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission ("Commission ) opened this docket in response
to a Petition filed by Idaho Power Company ("Idaho Power ) requesting a temporary suspension
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
of the company s obligation under Sections 201 and 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies
Act of 1978 (PURP A) and various Commission orders, to enter into new contracts to purchase
energy generated by qualifying wind-powered small power production facilities (QFs). In
response, the Commission issued Order No. 29839 in which it reduced the published rate
eligibility cap for wind projects to 100 kW from 10 000 kW.The Commission ruled that:
Based on the record established in this case the Commission finds reason to
believe that wind generation presents operational integration costs to a utility
different from other PURP A qualified resources. We find that the unique supply
characteristics of wind generation and the related integration costs provide a basis
for adjustment to the published avoided cost rates. . .
Order No. 29839 p. 8.
The Commission did not completely suspend Idaho Power s obligation to purchase wind
power. Rather it made the following findings:
The Commission is presented in this case with a Company proposal to suspend its
obligation to purchase and a Staff proposal to reduce the published rate eligibility
cap for qualified intermittent wind projects from 10 aMW to 100 kW and to
require individual negotiation for larger wind projects. The Commission finds
Staff s proposal to be a reasonable approach. In doing so we find that under
PURP A standard rates for purchases need be published only for QFs 100 kW and
smaller. ... We find that the published avoided cost rates for other generation
types is not being challenged in this case.
Order No. 29839 p. 9.
Although PacifiCorp petitioned to intervene in this Docket on July 15 2005, the
Commission never issued an order granting said petition. In addition, and despite the fact that
A vista did not file a petition to intervene, the Commission s secretary issued a Notice of Parties
on July 20 2005 that listed both PacifiCorp and Avista as parties. Although no order was issued
granting them party status, both A vista and PacifiCorp filed pleadings in this docket requesting
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
that their obligations to purchase wind be revised in the same manner as requested by Idaho. In
response the Commission made the following finding:
PacifiCorp and Avista in this case have both requested similar procedural and
regulatory treatment as pertains to the availability of published rates for wind QFs.
On the evidence presented we find that neither PacifiCorp nor A vista are in the
situation of having to purchase an amount ofQF wind generation as has been
offered and presented to Idaho Power. Nevertheless, we find for administrative
reasons that it is prudent and expedient to examine this question for all
jurisdictional utilities at the same time, we find this request to be reasonable and
justified.
Order No. 29839 p. 10.
Finally, the Commission gave the three utilities the following instructions with respect to
further proceedings in this docket:
PacifiCorp and Avista are directed to participate in further proceedings before this
Commission in this docket. Idaho Power in conjunction with the other two
utilities and in consultation with other parties to this case is directed to file a
proposed schedule for an initial workshop to identify issues, required studies, and
discovery parameters. Also to be filed is a proposal for further procedure and
related time lines. Subsequent status reports shall be filed every 60 days
thereafter.
Id.
Order No. 29839 was issued in August of2005. The Idaho Power hosted four workshops
in the three following months, the last of which took place in November of2005. The parties
held a settlement conference in January of2006 the occurrence of which was duly reported to the
Commission by Idaho Power on January 31 , 2006. None ofthe utilities that are the object of the
above quoted direction have conducted any subsequent workshops and no status reports have
been filed by any of the utilities since Idaho Power s January 31 , 2006 report
1 No other references "administrative reasons" are made in the order and consequently it is not possible to address
whether such reasons are extant.
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
Earlier this month Idaho Power filed the results of its wind integration study along with a
request that the Commission raise the cap for entitlement to published rates for wind projects up
to the 10 000 kW level as well as the elimination of the 90/110% band. Idaho Power s request
was filed as a separate docket and not part of this IPC-05-22 docket.
Avista and PacifiCorp
It appears that the Commission s admonishment that "Idaho Power in conjunction with
the other two utilities and consultation with other parties. .. is directed to file a proposed
schedule for an initial workshop to identify issues, required studies, and discovery parameters
has been ignored or at a minimum abandoned. Furthermore, while it is not clear from the quoted
language whether all three utilities were to file simultaneous studies, it is clear that the
Commission ordered the three utilities to "examine this question for all jurisdictional utilities at
the same time." Indeed, the Commission based its decision, to permit Avista and PacifiCorp to
join Idaho Power in reducing the PURPA cap for wind from 10 000 kW to 100 kW, on its
finding that it would be administratively easier to conduct a simultaneous investigation of the
integration issues.
It is now apparent Idaho Power has gone its own way and that there will be no
simultaneous examination ofthe question for "all jurisdictional utilities at the same time.
the year and a half since successfully claiming "me too " neither A vista nor PacifiCorp have filed
even one of the required 60-day progress reports and neither has held any integration workshops
as required by Order No. 29839.
III
PRA YER FOR RELIEF
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
Because Idaho Power has filed its wind integration study under a separate docket and
because Avista and PacifiCorp have ignored the mandates imposed upon them in Docket No.
IPC-05-22 in Order No. 29839 that docket has become superfluous and should now be closed.
In addition it appears that A vista and PacifiCorp have succeeded in shutting down the wind
PURP A in their service territories since August of 2005 with no serious intent of conducting "
examination of integration issues "in conjunction" with Idaho Power. Therefore A vista and
PacifiCorp should be required to offer PURP A QFs their full published avoided costs for all
projects, regardless of motive force, up to 10 000 average monthly kW.
RICHARDSON & O'LEARY PLLC
By: fL0---
Peter J. Richardson, ISB #3195
Attorneys for Exergy Development
Group of Idaho LLC
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certify that on this 2ih day of February 2007, the enclosed MOTION TO
CLOSE DOCKET was sent to the following parties as shown:
Jean Jewell ( ) u.s. Mail, Postage Prepaid
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 West Washington
Boise, Idaho 83702
iiewell~puc.state.id.
(X) Hand Delivered
( ) Overnight Mail
( )
Facsimile
( ) Electronic Mail
Monica B. Moen
Barton L. Kline
Idaho Power Company
PO Box 70
Boise ID 83707-0070
MMoen~idahopower.com
BKline~idahopower .com
(X) U.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
( ) Hand Delivered
( ) Overnight Mail
( ) Facsimile
(X) Electronic Mail
Dean J. Miller
McDevitt & Miller LLP
420 West Bannock
Boise, Idaho 83702
oe~mcdevitt -miller .com
(X) U.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
( ) Hand Delivered
( ) Overnight Mail
( ) Facsimile
(X) Electronic Mail
Glen Ikemoto
Principal
Energy Vision LLC
672 Blair Avenue
Piedmont, CA 94611
glenni~pacbell.net
(X) U.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
( ) Hand Delivered
( ) Overnight Mail
( ) Facsimile
(X) Electronic Mail
Scott Woodbury
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 West Washington
Boise, Idaho 83702
swoodbu~puc.state.
(X) u.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
( ) Hand Delivered
( ) Overnight Mail
( ) Facsimile
(X) Electronic Mail
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
Data Request Response Ctr
PacifiCorp
825 NE Multnomah, Suite 800
Portland, OR 97232
(X) u.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
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( ) Electronic Mail
William M. Eddie
Advocates for the West
PPO Box 1612
Boise, Idaho 83701
billeddie~rmci.net
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(X) Electronic Mail
Lisa Nordstrom
PacifiCorp
825 NE Multnomah, Suite 1800
Portland, Oregon 97232
Ii sa. n ordstrom~pac ifi co rp. com
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Overnight Mail
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(X) Electronic Mail
Bob Lively
PacifiCorp
One Utah Center, 23rd Floor
201 S. Main Street
Salt Lake City, UT 84140
Bob.li vely0pacificorp.com
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(X) Electronic Mail
Richard L. Storro
Director Power Supply
A vista Corporation
O. Box 3727 /MSC-
Spokane, W A 99220-3727
dick. storro~avistacorp. com
(X) u.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
( )
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(X) Electronic Mail
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
William 1. Batt
John R. Hammond, Jr.
Batt & Fisher, LLP
O. Box 1308
Boise, Idaho 83701
wi b0battfi sher. com
irh0battfisher.com
(X) U.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
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(X) Electronic Mail
Jared Grover
Cassia Wind LLC
Cassia Gulch Wind Park
4219 N. Creswell Way
Boise, Idaho 83613-2406
(X) U.S. Mail, Postage Prepaid
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( )
Overnight Mail
( )
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(X) Electronic Mail
Michael Heckler
Director of Marketing & Development
Windland, Inc.
7669 W Riverside Dr. Ste 102
Boise, Idaho 83714
mheckler~windland. com
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(X) Electronic Mail
David Hawk
Director, Energy Natural Resources
R. Simplot Company
O. Box 27
Boise, Idaho 83707-0027
dhawk~simplot.com
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R. Scott Pasley
Assistant General Counsel
R.Simplot Company
O. Box 27
Boise, Idaho 83707-0027
spasley~simplot.com
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Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA
R. Blair Strong
Paine Hamblen et al
717 W. Sprague Ave., Ste 1200
Spokane, WA 99201-3505
r. blair. strong~painehamblen.com
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Troy Gagliano
917 SW Oak Street, Ste 303
Portland, OR 97205
renewables~rnp.org
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Si~oo
~ ~
Exergy s Motion to Close Docket and Reinstate PURPA