20140122press release.pdf

Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Case No. IPC-E-13-24, Order No. 32963
January 22, 2014
Contact: Gene Fadness [phone]

Idaho Power seeks approval of sales agreement
with Bannock County landfill-to-gas plant
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is taking comment through Feb. 5 on an Idaho Power
Company application to enter into a 20-year sales agreement with Bannock County’s landfill-to-
gas energy plant near Pocatello.
The county plans to initially install a 1.6-megawatt generation unit and later install another 1.6-
MW unit within five years. The scheduled operation date is May 1, 2014.
The Bannock County facility qualifies under the provisions of the Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA. The act requires that electric utilities offer to buy power
produced from qualifying small-power producers. The rate to be paid small-power producers is
determined by the commission and is called an “avoided-cost rate” because it is to be equal to
the cost the electric utility avoids if it would have had to generate the power itself or purchase
it from another source. The commission must ensure the avoided-cost rate is reasonable for
utility customers because 100 percent of the price utilities pay to qualifying small-power
producers is included in customer rates.
The proposed agreement is for 20 years with non-levelized energy prices that gradually
increase throughout the life of the contract. Beginning this year, the avoided-cost rate for
projects of this type is $42.35 per megawatt-hour, though that amount is adjusted slightly
downward during light-load hours of the day and season and upward during heavy-load hours
and seasons. In 2033, at the end of the contract, the price would be $99.72 per MWh.

Comments are accepted via e-mail through Feb. 5, 2014, by accessing the commission’s
homepage at www.puc.idaho.gov and clicking on "Case Comment Form,” under the “Electric”
heading. Fill in the case number (IPC-E-13-24) and enter your comments. Comments can also be
mailed to P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0074 or faxed to [phone].

A full text of the commission’s order, along with other documents related to this case, is
available on the commission’s Web site. Click on “Open Cases” under the “Electric” heading and
scroll down to the above case number.

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