20090108ICIP Comments.pdf

Peter J. Richardson ISB 3195
RICHARSON & O'LEARY PLLC
515 N. 27th Street
PO Box7218
Boise, Idaho 83700
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
peter(qrichrdsonando1ear .com
Attorneys for the Industral Customers of Idaho Power
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BEFORE THE
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION OF)
IDAHO POWER FOR AN ORDER ). CASE NO. IPC-E-08-24
AUTHORIZING THE RETIREMENT OF ITS )
GREEN TAGS )
) COMMENTS OF THE INDUSTRIAL
) CUSTOMERS OF IDAHO POWER
)
)
)
COMES NOW, the Industrial Customers of Idaho Power ("ICIP") by and through its
attorney of record, Peter J. Richardson, and pursuant to Order No. 30701 provides the following
comments.
I
SUMMARY
The ICIP respectfully opposes Idaho Power's request to retire its Green Tags. Idaho
Power should be required to maximize the financial potential of ratepayer fuded green tags for
the benefit of the ratepayers - - who are, after all, paying for the facilities that create the Green
Tags in the first place.
Comments of the Industrial Customers ofIdao Power IPC-E-08-24
1
II.
IDAHO POWER'S PROPOSAL TO RETIRE ITS GREEN TAGS
IS A COSMETIC ATTEMPT TO FURTHER CORPORATE ADVERTISING AND SHOULD
BE REJECTED
The Green Tags Idaho Power is proposing to retire were created with ratepayer fuded
assets. They should therefore be used solely to benefit the ratepayers. The motivation for Idaho
Power's application is purely cosmetic and would only benefit the shareholders as the company
attempts to improve its image through corporate advertising. For example, Idaho Power asserts
that unless it is permitted to retire its Green Tags that it:
(W)ould be prohibited from using visuals (including chars, graphs, line ar, etc.)
depicting green resources as par of the energy delivered to customers. The sale of all of
its Green Tags that are (or capable of being) Green-e certified would also preclude Idaho
Power from using photographs or other imagery depicting wind turbines, solar, or other
green resources when describing or displaying its resource portfolio if all environmental
attibutes have been relinquished through the sale of Green Tags.
Application at p. 6.
Other than being able to advertise that it has renewable resources in its portfolio, Idaho Power
offers no tagible benefit to the ratepayers by the elimination of this ratepayer fuded resource
through retirement of its Green Tags. In other words, the ratepayers bought and paid for Idaho
Power's Green Tags. Therefore, the ratepayers should benefit from their sale and not Idaho
Power's marketing deparment.
III
IDAHO POWER ALREADY HAS A VOLUNTARY GREEN TAG OFFERIG THAT IS
EXTREMELY POORLY SUBSCRIBED
Comments of the Industrial Customers ofIdaho Power IPC-E-08-24
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Idaho Power makes much of public opinion polls that suggest the utility should be
"green". To support this contention Idaho Power cites a 2007 "Idaho Energy Policy Surey" that
concludes that fifty percent of respondents said that green or renewable resources should be the
State's highest priority. Not stated was how that number would change if the respondents were
told that their electric bil would be higher in exchange. In fact, nowhere in said surey is the
question of how much more the ratepayers are willng to pay to have green energy in Idaho
Power's portfolio. It is important to remember that even if the Green Tags are sold and Idaho
Power is not able to advertise that it has wind energy in its portfolio; the indisputable fact wil
remain that it has 101 MW of wind on line.
Idaho Power also argues that its ratepayers want renewable resources because a majority
of the respondents in its RFP process made comments to that effect. However, Idaho Power's
assertions that its customers want it to retire rather than sell its Green Tags, is belied by its
customers' response to the curent volunta Green Tag program. If a majority of its 400,000
residential customers really wanted Green Tags, then one would assume more than 2,500 would
have voluntaily signed up to pay a little extra for that privilege. If a majority of its 60,000
commercial customers wanted Green Tags, then one would assume that more than 116 would
have signed up to pay a little extra for them. Idaho Power's assertion that its customer base
wants to pay more for Green Tags (in the form of forgone revenue from their sale on the open
market) is simply wrong. IfIdaho Power's calculations are correct, sale of the Green Tags
would bring approximately $2,000,000 anually to provide some rate relief to Idaho Power's
customers. As noted above, if any individual customer wants to "go green" it already has that
option.
Comments of the Industrial Customers ofIdaho Power IPC-E-08-24
3
iv
IDAHO'S POLICY GOALS WITH RESPECT TO WIND
ARE NOT AT ALL CLEAR AND DO NOT INDICATE THAT THE RATEPAYERS
SHOULD BE REQUIRED TO PAY $2,000,000 TO ALLOW IDAHO POWER TO
ADVERTISE THAT IT IS GREEN
According to Idaho Power's Application:
The retirement of Green Tags on behalf of cUstomers aligns with Gov. C.L. "Butch"
Otter's 25 X 25 initiative, which established the Idaho 25 X 25 Renewable Energy
Council ... to fuher the goal of providing 25 percent of Idaho's energy needs through
renewable sources by the year 2025
Application at p. 9
Not mentioned is the fact that the individual appointed by the same Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter to
head the Renewable Energy Council was only recently quoted in a local newspaper from a
speech he gave to Boise business leaders as follows:
In a speech to the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce last week, Kjellander made it
plain that nuclear power was his energy source of choice for an expanding state.
Wind energy, he said, was a "par-time" energy source.
"I'm pro-nuclear," Kjellander said. He believes, he said, in "the three N's," which he
defines as "nuclear, natural gas or nothing." 1
To suggest that the policy of the State ofIdaho is to require Idaho Power's ratepayers to forgo
$2,000,000 of their money to retire Green Tags is simply not credible in light of the comments of
the Governor's Energy 'Czar'. The nexus between the State's energy policy and the fuherance
of wind powered Green Tags is made even more tenuous in light of the fact that the Offce of
Energy's Wind Power Working Group was disbanded by Mr. Kjellander just two weeks ago?
1 Boise Weekly January 16, 2008
2 See, Idaho Statesman December 25, 2008, p. 1.
Comments of the Industrial Customers ofIdaho Power IPC-E-08-24
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Probably the most significant indicator of the State's policy on Green Tags and wind
energy in particular is the fact that the Idaho Legislatue has not enacted a renewable portfolio
standard requiring Idaho's utilities to meet certn goals in terms of renewable energy in their
portfolios. This is significant in light of the fact that all of the states surounding Idaho have
enacted such a stadard for their utilties. So it can be no accident that Idaho is not following the
national trend toward renewable portfolio standards (RPS). IfIdaho did have a RPS, then Idaho
Power would be able to retire its Green Tags with abandon and it would be able to put pictures of
wind turbines on its anual report. Perhaps, if Idaho Power wants to be green, it should seek
legislative or PUC permission to meet a renewable portfolio standard.
V
CONTRARY TO IDAHO POWER'S ASSERTION,
GREEN TAGS CAN NOT BE BANKED FOR FUTURE USE
Idaho Power makes the statement that "Green Tags Idao Power retains and retires now
on behalf of customers may hold value to be used at a later date". However the fact is that once
a Green Tag is retired it has no value and may not be revived for futue use. In addition, even
Idaho Power's own application points out that a Green Tag only has a shelf life of 18 months.
Eighteen months after a Green Tag is created it expires and may not be sold, retired or used to
meet a renewable portfolio stadard. So the notion that a Green Tag may have value at a later
date is simply not tre - they have to used (e.g. retired or sold) within eighteen months or they
become worthless. See Idaho Power's Application at footnote 5.
Comments of the Industrial Customers ofIdaho Power IPC-E-08-24
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VI
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 Application to retire its Green Tags.
Respectfully submitted this 8th day of Januar 8, 2009.
RICHARSON & O'LEARY PLLC
By_ma ,¡tPeter J. Richardson
Attorneys for the Industrial Customers of
Idaho Power
Comments of the Industrial Customers ofIdaho Power IPC-E-08-24
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