20091217Quarterly Progress Report.pdf

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An IDACORP Company
BARTON L. KLINE
Lead Counsel
bklineØiidahopower.com
December 17, 2009
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VIA HAND DELIVERY
Jean D. Jewell, Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 West Washington Street
P.O. Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83720-0074
Re: Langley Gulch - Quarterly Progress Report
Dear Ms. Jewell:
In Order No. 30892, the Commission directed Idaho Power Company ("Idaho
Powet' or "Company") to submit quarterly progress reports to the Commission describing
the status ofthe Langley Gulch power plant construction (the "Project"). Enclosed with this
letter is the first quarterly progress report. While the Project is stil in an early stage of
development, the enclosed materials indicate that the Company stil expects the Project to
be available for service in the summer of 2012 and that the costs wil not exceed the
Commitment Estimate discussed in Order No. 30892.
Two areas of uncertainty have surfaced and both relate to permits the Company wil
need to acquire for the Project. First, in addressing the BLM right-of-way use for the
transmission line and water line, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has identified slickspot
peppergrass as a threatened species. This determination by Fish and Wildlife is discussed
in the enclosed report. At this early stage of the permitting process there is no way to know
whether or not identification of this plant as threatened wil have any material adverse
effect on the construction cost or schedule.
Second, it has been confirmed that the Company wil not be able to use injection
wells to dispose of waste cooling water at the site. This issue is discussed in greater detail
in the report. At this point, it does not appear that there wil be an adverse effect on the
cost commitment of the Project.
Finally, the Company recognizes that this report does not contain a detailed
comparison of expenditures to the Commitment Estimate. This is a function of the early
stage of Project development. As the Project reaches major milestones in the construction
P.O. Box 70 (83707)
1221 W. Idaho St.
Boise, ID 83702
Jean D. Jewell, Secretary
December 17, 2009
Page 2
process, a comparison of actual expenditures to the Commitment Estimate wil be included
in future reports.
Because this is the first report submitted to the Commission, the Company is
interested to know whether this report provides the right amount of detail or if more or less
would be desirable.
It is the intention of the Company to file the next quarterly report in early March
2010.
,
Barton L. Kline
BLK:csb
Enclosures
Langley Gulch Power Plant
Quarterly PUC Update
December 2009
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Upon receiving a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity from the Idaho Public Utilties
Commission, Idaho Power Company (IPC) issued full notices to proceed (FNTP) on September 4, 2009,
to Boise Power Parers (EPC Contractor) - ajoint venture of Kiewit Power Engineers and The Industrial
Company and to Siemens Energy (turbine supplier). The Langley Gulch team held kick-off meetings with
the EPC Contractor on September 30,2009 and Siemens Energy on October 1,2009.
Since issuance of the FNTP, the EPC Contractor has issued bid specifications for major
equipment components including the heat recovery steam generator, condenser, cooling tower, step-up
transformers, and major pumps. Additionally, the EPC Contractor has staed developing design drawings
for the site layout and piping and instrmentation drawings.
Since the issuance ofthe FNTP, Siemens has been submitting design drawings and specifications
to incorporate the owner furnished equipment into the plant design.
Generally, the project remains on schedule with the following major milestones.
· Construction Notice to Proceed: August 1,2010
· Gas Turbine Delivery: February 201 i
. Steam Turbine Delivery: July 20 i i
· First Fire: March 2012
· Targeted Commercial Operation Date: July 1,2012
Permitting Update:
IPC has taken a leadership role in the permitting process. The following is a summar of the
permit applications in progress and a status report.
. Air Emissions
o Application submittd July 8, 2009
o Completeness letter issued from DEQ on September 4, 2009
o Submitted an application update on December 15,2009
o Currently in the 60-day draft permittng writing stage
o Anticipate a Permit to Constrct by July 31, 20 i 0
· Payette County
o Comprehensive Plan Change completed on May 18, 2009
o Conditional Use Applications (3 total) approved on November 12,2009
o Rezone and Development Agreement approval was received on December 14, 2009
Page i of2
. Water
o Submitted groundwater right application for site on June 12,2009 (Priority Date)
o Received groundwater approval letter on December 2, 2009 (Permit No. 65-23342)
o Requested name change on Cottonwood Right surface water right on July 7, 2009
o Received surface water approval letter on November 16,2009 (Water Right No. 2-10450)
o Submitted application for new surface water diversion from Snake River on
September 11, 2009
. NEPA (for BLM right-of-way use for transmission and water line)
o Right of way grant application submitted to BLM in October 2008 for transmission and
water line piping
o Most field studies completed in 2009 (including cultural study)
o Slickspot Peppergrass was listed as a threatened species by the US Fish and Wildlife
Service in October 2009
o Submitted Draft Scoping Document to BLM on November 18, 2009
o Public comment period on Scoping Document is anticipated to sta in January 2010
o Draft Environmenta Assessment (EA) is anticipated to be submitted in Februar 2010
o Biological Assessment for Slickspot Peppergrass wil need to be completed and approved
by the USFWS prior to submitting the Final EA
o IPC believes the project schedule wil remain unchaged and IPC anticipates a Right-of-
Way Grant from the BLM by August 1,2010. The Grant is not required to sta
constrction at the project site, however it is required to star construction on the water
and transmission lines
· Wastewater Disposal/Injection Well Permit
o Based on initial discussion in the winter of 2008, IPC determined that injection wells
could be permittd for spent cooling water use
o IPC selected a consultat in late summer 2009 to evaluate wastewater disposal options
and continue coordination with the Idaho DEQ and the Idaho Departent of Water
Resources (IDWR)
o Through the meetings with the resource agencies and field work, it was determined that
because of permitting process changes and quality of existing groundwater, that neither
injection wells, infitration ponds, nor land application would be feasible options for
disposal of spent cooling water
o IPC requested the EPC Contractor pursue a zero liquid discharge for managing spent
cooling water
o EPC Contractor has proposed a series of water treatment clarifiers, reverse osmosis
systems, and other treatment equipment to reduce the total cooling water discharge flow
as much as possible prior to sending it to an on-site evaporation pond
o Some permitting may be required through the IDWR but after initial meetings, IPC
foresees no issues with this permittng
o Although there wil be costs associated with the cooling water treatment stategy change,
the EPC Contractor has seen cost savings in engineered equipment purchasing which IPC
is sharing, no change in the commitment estimate is expected
IPC wil continue to be involved with permitting over the next six to nine months, but at this time does
not see any significant issues that would cause problems with the expected Commercial Operation Date.
Page 2 of2
Idaho Power Company
Quarterly Spending Report for Langley Gulch Power Plant
Through November 2009
November
$'s spent to date
Gas Turbine 21,288,419
10,889,584
4,117,065
Steam Turbine
EPC Contract
Commitment Estimate Contingency
Site Procurement 125,047
Water Rights 2,083,419
NEPA Permitting 104,123
310,254
13,106
Air Permitting
Water Line Construction
Gas Line Construction
Miscellaneous Equipment (IPC supplied)
Capitalized Propert Taxes
Idaho Power Engineering and Oversight 1,004,275
RFP Pricing components (includes start up fuels)376,152
Transmission 79,047
AFUDC 579,821
Totals 40,970,311
Commitment Estimate Remaining Amount
56,281,662 34,993,243
35,710,905 24,821,321
221,421,431 217,304,366
6,800,686 6,800,686
2,000,000 1,874,953
2,200,000 116,581
150,000 45,877
320,000 9,746
8,850,000 8,836,894
3,100,000 3,100,000
662,300 662,300
2,881,277 2,881,277
3,800,000 2,795,725
2,250,000 1,873,848
31,679,100 31,600,053
49,259,378 48,679,557
427,366,739 386,396,428