20080225ICIP Comments.pdf

ATTORNEYS AT LAW FEB25 Pr1 3: 51~r.(M~Y
Peter Richardson
Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone]
peter~ ri ch ardso nan dol cary. co m
P.O. Box 7218 Boise, ID 83707 - 515 N. 27th St. Boise, ID 83702
February 25, 2008
Ms. Jean Jewell
Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
PO Box 83720
Boise 10 83720-0074
RE: Case No.lPC-E-07 -18
Dear Ms. Jewell:
Enclosed please find an original and seven (7) copies of the COMMENTS OF
THE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS OF IDAHO POWER TO IDAHO POWER
COMPANY in the above case.
i have also enclosed an extra copy to be service-dated and returned to us for
our files. Thank you.
Sincerely,~~%
Nina Curtis
Administrative Assistant
enc!.
Peter J. Richardson ISB 3195
RICHARDSON & O'LEARY PLLC
515 N. 27th Street
PO Box 7218
Boise, Idaho 83700
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
peter(êrichrdsonandolear .com
Attorneys for the Industrial Customers of Idaho Power
BEFORE THE
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPROPRIATE )
DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS FOR THE ) CASE NO. IPC-E-07-18
SALE OF IDAHO POWER COMPANY'S S02 )
EMISSION ALLOWANCES IN CY 2007 )
) COMMENTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL
) CUSTOMERS OF IDAHO POWER
)
)
)
COMES NOW, the Industrial Customers ofIdaho Power ("ICIP") by and through its
attorney of record, Peter J. Richardson, and pursuant to Order No. 30495 provides the following
comments.
I
SUMMARY
The ICIP respectfully opposes the use ofIdaho Power's S02 credits for any purose
other than to offset what is looking to be an extraordinarily high PCA balance.
Comments of the Industrial Customers of Idaho Power IPC- £-07 -18
1
II.
PCA BALANCE is ALREADY DANGEROUSLY HIGH
The curent PCA balance, according to Idaho Power's most recent PCA deferral report is
now in excess of $111 ,000,000. That roughly equates to a fifteen percent increase in retal rates.
Flowing the S02 fuds through the PCA this year would provide some modest relief from such a
large rate increase. In addition to the PCA, the ratepayers will experience a five percent rate
increase on March 1 st of this year. Any amelioration of these back-to-back rate increases will
serve the public interest to a much greater extent than Idaho Power's proposed speculative
ventues.
The Industrial Customers respectfuly urge the Commission to tae ths opportunity to
provide them with the rate relief, albeit modest, that the S02 credits would afford.
III.
FORWARD PURCHASE OF GREEN TAGS VIOLATES THE USED AND USEFUL
CONCEPT
Idaho Power proposes that one of the opportunities it would like to investigate is the use
of the "customer's share of the proceeds to purchase multi-year streams of Renewable Energy
Certificates (' green tags')." Idaho Power's Motion at p. 3. Because Idaho Power does not
curently operate under a mandate to offer a green portfolio, the pre-purchase of green tags by
the Company would be nothing more than pure speculation in a market that is yet to matue. Use
of ratepayer fuds to purchase assets (green tags) that are not beneficial in the provision of utility
service violates the well understood doctrine that ratepayer fuds are only to be applied to "used
and useful" assets. Green tags wil not be used by Idaho Power to provide service and should
therefore be purchased, if at all, only with shareholder fuds.
Comments of the Industrial Customers ofIdaho Power IPC-E-07-l8
2
iv
IDAHO POWER ALREADY HAS A LARGE WIND PORTFOLIO ON ITS BOOKS MAKIG
IT UNECESSARY FOR IT TO USE S02 CREDITS TO PURCHASE INTO A WIND
DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
This Commission is very familar with Idaho Power's arguents in other dockets in
which the company asserts that it is essentially being inundated with new wind projects. It is
therefore unecessar for Idaho Power to utilze the S02 proceeds to add to the wind projects
that it already has in the pipeline.
V.
APPLICATION OF S02 PROCEEDS TO ENERGY EFFICIENCY EDUCATION EFFORTS
WOULD BE REDUNDANT
Idaho Power already has an active energy conservation and education program in place
that is fuded with ratepayer dollars. There has been no assertion that the ICIP is aware of that
these efforts are curently under fuded or not effective. Application of the S02 credit balance
to fud a new energy efficiency or energy education project without first understanding the
effectiveness (or lack thereof) of the existing programs would be premature and possibly create
unintended consequences. The ICIP respectfully requests, therefore, that the S02 credits be
flowed through the PCA and, if the Commission has reason to believe that the Company's
energy efficiency and education efforts are lacking, to thoroughly investigate that belief before
applying ratepayer money to a problem that has not been documented.
Comments of the Industral Customers ofIdaho Power IPC-E-07-l8
3
VII
CONCLUSION
F or the foregoing reasons and in the fuherance of providing a modicum of rate relief,
the Industrial Customers of Idaho Power respectfully requests this Commission deny Idaho
Power's Petition to apply its S02 balance to any purose other than reducing the PCA balance.
Respectfully submitted this 25th day of Februar 2008.
RICHARDSON & O'LEARY PLLC
~~er~~
Attorneys for the Industrial Customers of
Idaho Power
Comments of the Industrial Customers of Idaho Power IPC- E-07 -18
4
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on the 25th day of February, 2008 a true and correct copy of
the withi and foregoing COMMENTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL CUSTOMERS OF IDAHO.
was filed with the Idaho Public Utilties Commission and paries as indicated below:
Ms. Jean Jewell
Commssion Secreta
Idaho Public Utilties Commssion
POBox 83720
Boise ID 83720-0074
lL Hand Delivery
_ U.S. Mail, postage pre-paid
Facsimile
Electronic Mail
Baron L. Kline
Lisa D. Nordstrom
Idaho Power Company
1221 W. Idaho St. (83702)
PO Box 70
Boise,ID 83707-0070
Email: bklineØ)idahopower.com
lnordstromØ)idahopower.com
JohnE. Gale
Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
Idaho Power Company
1221 W. Idaho St. (83702)
PO Box 70
Boise,ID 83707-0070
Email: rgaleØ)idahopower.com
lL Hand Delivery
_ U.S. Mail, postage pre-paid
Facsimile
.K Electronic Mail
lL Hand Delivery
_U.S. Mail, postage pre-paid
Facsimile
.K Electronic Mail
î)Uh ¡\\tc\'Ì\Nina . Curis
Certificate of Service - 1