20100122notice_of_filing_order_no_30986.pdf

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
January 22, 2010
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF IDAHO POWER
COMPANY'S 2009 INTEGRATED
RESOURCE PLAN (IRP)
NOTICE OF FILING
CASE NO. IPC-09-
NOTICE OF
COMMENT DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 30986
IDAHO POWER 2009 ELECTRIC INTEGRATED RESOURCE PLAN
YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that on December 28 , 2009, Idaho Power Company
(Idaho Power; Company) filed the Company s 2009 electric Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) with
the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (Commission).! Idaho Power is a multi-jurisdictional
utility and provides electric service to over 486 000 customers (year end 2008) in Idaho and
Oregon.
BACKGROUND
As required by Commission Order No. 22299 (Case No. U-1500-165), Idaho Power
filing is a biennial planning document that sets forth how the Company intends to serve the
electric requirements of its customers.
Idaho Power s 2009 IRP addresses available supply-side and demand-side resource
options, planning period, load forecast, potential resource portfolios, a risk analysis , and near-
term and long-term action plans. The complete 2009 IRP consists of four separate documents:
(1) the 2009 Integrated Resource Plan; (2) Appendix A - Sales and Load Forecast; (3) Appendix
B - Demand-Side Management 2008 Annual Report; and (4) Appendix C - Technical Appendix.
1 The nonnal filing date for Idaho Power s biennial IRP would have been June 2008. However, in Order No. 30281
the Commission expressed a desire to receive the IRPs from each of its three jurisdictional electric utilities within a
narrower time frame. In response to that, Idaho Power proposed that it file its next "full" IRP in June 2009. The
Commission accepted that proposed schedule on May 23, 2007, in Order No. 30317. However, the desire to provide
additional infonnation on the proposed Boardman to Hemingway 500 kV transmission line (B2H) caused Idaho
Power to request pennission to file the 2009 IRP by year end 2009. The Commission granted Idaho Power s request
for delay to year end on May 19 2009, in Order No. 30815.
NOTICE OF FILING
NOTICE OF COMMENT DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 30986
2009 IRP - GOALS AND ASSUMPTIONS
Primary goals reflected in Idaho Power s 2009 IRP application are to (1) identify
sufficient resources to reliably serve the demand for energy within Idaho Power s service area
throughout the 20-year planning period; (2) ensure that the portfolio of selected resources
reasonably balances cost, risk, and environmental concerns; (3) give equal and balanced
treatment to both supply-side resources and demand-side measures; and (4) involve the public in
the planning process in a meaningful way. In the 2009 IRP, the Company also explored
transmission alternatives and investigated and evaluated renewable resources that play
prominent role in the resource portfolio.
In the 2009 IRP, Idaho Power assumes that during two 10-year planning periods
2010-2019 (Period One) and 2020-2029 (Period Two) it will continue to operate as a vertically-
integrated electric utility while acquiring resources sufficient to serve all of its retail customers in
its Idaho and Oregon service territories.
The number of customers in Idaho Power s service area is expected to increase from
around 486 000 in 2008 to over 680 000 by the end of the planning period in 2029. As a result
Idaho Power s average load is expected to increase by 13 aMW (0.7%) annually and
summertime peak-hour loads are expected to increase by 53 MW (1.5%) annually through 2020-
2029. Idaho Power continues to use 70th percentile water conditions and 70th percentile average
load for energy planning. For peak-hour capacity planning, Idaho Power uses 90th percentile
water conditions and 95th percentile peak-hour load.
2009 IRP - PREFERRED RESOURCE PORTFOLIO
Idaho Power examined 10 resource portfolios and numerous permutations for each of
the two 10-year periods as part of preparing the 2009 IRP. Following a risk analysis, Idaho
Power selected Portfolio 1.4 (Boardman to Hemingway) as the preferred portfolio for Period One
and Portfolio 2.4 (Wind and Peakers) for Period Two. Period One includes completion of the
Langley Gulch CCCT (300 MW) in 2012, the Shoshone Falls Upgrade Project (49 MW) in 2015
and assumes completion of the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) Transmission Project in 2015.
Period Two represents a strategy of adding wind resources sufficient to provide energy and
Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) along with simple-cycle natural gas plants to provide peaking
capacity and operating reserves necessary to integrate wind generation. The additional wind
NOTICE OF FILING
NOTICE OF COMMENT DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 30986
(500 MW) in Period Two assumes completion of the Gateway West Transmission Project (100
MW) by 2022. The selected portfolio adds supply-side resources capable of providing 529 aMW
of energy, 1 525 MW of capacity to peak-hour loads, and 425 MW of additional transmission
capacity from the B2H line to the Pacific Northwest. The selected portfolio also includes new
and expanded energy efficiency and demand-side management programs estimated to reduce
average loads by 127 aMW and peak-hour loads by 438 MW by 2029.
Idaho Power believes that maintaining a diverse resource portfolio is the best way to
mitigate risk given the amount of uncertainty in the planning process. As part of this strategy,
the 2009 IRP contains a qualitative discussion of the potential risk associated with carbon
regulation, developing technologies, resource siting, and relying on market purchases. Although
a market for renewable energy credits (RECs) has recently developed, the Company contends
that there is uncertainty associated with the future market value of RECs and potential limitations
on the quantity of RECs that may be purchased to meet state renewable portfolio standards
(RPS) requirements or federal renewable electricity standards (RES).
To incorporate stakeholder and public input, the Company worked with the Integrated
Resource Plan Advisory Council (Advisory Council), comprised of members of the
environmental community, major industrial customers, agricultural interests, Idaho state
legislators, representatives of the Oregon and Idaho Commission Staffs, representatives of the
Idaho Office of Energy Resources and the Idaho Governor s Office, and others, including
representatives of groups opposed to the Company s proposed B2H transmission line project.
copy of the complete 2009 IRP can be found on the Company s web site at
www.idahopower.com. Interested persons may also request a printed copy of the 2009 IRP by
contacting Mark Stokes at [phone] or mstokes(2l),idahopower.com. The Company states
that it will schedule public presentations regarding its IRP at community meetings held
throughout its Idaho and Oregon service territories in early 2010.
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the Commission has reviewed the Company
filing in Case No. IPC-09-33 and finds it reasonable to establish the following schedule for
comment on Idaho Power s 2009 IRP.
Thursday, April 15, 2010 Deadline for filing written comments
NOTICE OF FILING
NOTICE OF COMMENT DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 30986
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that written comments concerning the Company
IRP filing shall be made to the Commission and Idaho Power at the addresses reflected below:
Commission Secretary Barton L. Kline
Idaho Public Utilities Commission Lisa D. NordstromPO Box 83720 Idaho Power Company
Boise, ID 83720-0074 PO Box 70
Boise, ID 83707-0070
E-mail: bkline~idahopower.com
lnordstrom~idahopower. com
Street Address for Express Mail:
472 W. Washington Street
Boise, ID 83702-5918 Michael J. Youngblood
Pricing & Regulatory Services
Idaho Power Company
PO Box 70
Boise, ID 83707-0070
E-mail: myoungblood~idahopower.com
All comments filed should contain the case caption and case number shown on the first page of
this document.
Persons desiring to submit comments Via e-mail may do so by accessing the
Commission s home page located at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click the "Comments and Questions
icon and complete the comment form using the case number as it appears on the front of this
document. These comments must also be sent to Idaho Power at the e-mail addresses listed
above.
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that Idaho Power s IRP filing may be viewed at
www.puc.idaho.gov by clicking on "File Room" and "Electric Cases " or can be viewed during
regular business hours at the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, 472 West Washington Street
Boise, Idaho and at the principal business office ofIdaho Power, 1221 West Idaho Street, Boise
Idaho ([phone]).
YOU ARE FURTHER NOTIFIED that the Commission has jurisdiction over this
matter and Idaho Power Company, an electric utility, pursuant to the authority and power granted
under Title 61 of the Idaho Code and the Commission s Rules of Procedure IDAPA
31.01.01.000 et seq.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that this case be processed in accordance with the
foregoing schedule for filing of written comments.
NOTICE OF FILING
NOTICE OF COMMENT DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 30986
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this ;2) rJ.
day of January 2010.
ATTEST:
bls/O:IPC-09-33 sw
NOTICE OF FILING
NOTICE OF COMMENT DEADLINE
ORDER NO. 30986
. KEMPTON, PRESI NT
iI1/A J &JL.
MARSHA H. SMITH, COMMISSIONER
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