HomeMy WebLinkAbout20230314IPC Direct N. Blackwell.pdf
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF IDAHO POWER
COMPANY’S PARTICIPATION IN THE
WESTERN RESOURCE ADEQUACY
PROGRAM.
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CASE NO. IPC-E-23-08
IDAHO POWER COMPANY
DIRECT TESTIMONY
OF
NICOLE BLACKWELL
RECEIVED
2023 March, 14 9:15AM
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION
Blackwell, DI 1
Idaho Power Company
Q. Please state your name, business address, and 1
present position with Idaho Power Company (“Idaho Power” or 2
“Company”. 3
A. My name is Nicole Blackwell. My business 4
address is 1221 West Idaho Street, Boise, ID 83702. I am 5
employed by Idaho Power as a Senior Energy Settlement 6
Analyst. 7
Q. Please describe your educational background. 8
A. In May of 2010, I received Bachelor of Science 9
degrees in Finance and Business Economics from the 10
University of Idaho. In addition, I have attended “The 11
Basics: Practical Regulatory Training for the Electric 12
Industry,” an electric utility ratemaking course offered 13
through New Mexico State University’s Center for Public 14
Utilities, “Electric Utility Fundamentals & Insights,” an 15
electric utility course offered through the Western Energy 16
Institute, and Edison Electric Institute’s “Electric Rates 17
Advanced Course.” 18
Q. Please describe your work experience with 19
Idaho Power. 20
A. In January 2016, I was hired as a Regulatory 21
Analyst in Idaho Power’s Regulatory Affairs Department, and 22
in January 2021, I was promoted to Regulatory Consultant. 23
While in Regulatory Affairs, my primary responsibilities 24
included power supply expense modeling, supporting various 25
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Idaho Power Company
pricing analyses and compliance filings related to Public 1
Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978, aiding in marginal 2
cost studies, and the development of revenue forecasts for 3
regulatory filings. 4
In May of 2021, I accepted my current position of 5
Senior Energy Settlement Analyst in Power Supply. In my 6
current role, I am responsible for review and approval of 7
financial settlements associated with Idaho Power’s 8
participation in the Western Energy Imbalance Market. I 9
also provide analytical and research support for various 10
power supply activities, including resource procurement 11
strategies and regional market initiatives. 12
I also support efforts related to participation in 13
the Western Power Pool’s (“WPP”) Western Resource Adequacy 14
Program (“WRAP”), including preparing Idaho Power's non-15
binding forward showings. 16
Q. What is the purpose of your testimony? 17
A. My testimony in this case describes WRAP on a 18
conceptual level and explains how Idaho Power will operate 19
as a WRAP participant. My testimony is divided into four 20
sections: 1) The program’s function and design; 2) the 21
forward-showing program; 3) the operations program; and 4) 22
the transmission deliverability requirements. 23
Q. Have you prepared any exhibits? 24
Blackwell, DI 3
Idaho Power Company
A. Yes. This testimony includes the following: 1
Exhibit 1 – WRAP Tariff approved by the Federal Energy 2
Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). 3
I. WRAP FUNCTION AND DESIGN 4
Q. Why is WRAP necessary? 5
A. WRAP is a regional capacity-based resource 6
adequacy program that seeks to provide benefits through 7
enhanced coordination and increased visibility across the 8
regional power system. The program is intended to increase 9
reliability of the system while maintaining participants’ 10
existing responsibilities for reliable operations and 11
observing existing frameworks for planning, purchasing, and 12
delivering energy. By supplementing these existing 13
frameworks, WRAP will provide insight into the region-wide 14
status of resources and transmission to identify gaps and 15
help provide coordination as the region collectively plans 16
for the future. 17
Q. How will WRAP enhance resource adequacy for 18
Idaho Power and the region? 19
A. Resource adequacy is the cornerstone of Idaho 20
Power’s ability to provide customers with reliable electric 21
service. As demonstrated by the Company’s recent Integrated 22
Resource Plan (“IRP”), the Company has a need for new 23
resources to meet customer demand over the next several 24
years. The Company’s recent resource additions and 25
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Idaho Power Company
Requests for Proposals for new resources have demonstrated 1
that variable energy resources (“VER”) are least-cost, and 2
the Company is procuring more low-cost VERs to meet growing 3
demand. The shift to VERs is not unique to the Company, as 4
utilities across the region are also embracing VERs for 5
both economic purposes and to meet clean energy targets and 6
mandates established by various states across the West. 7
VER generation, while more frequently proving to be 8
the lowest-cost resource option, is also highly variable. 9
As a result, guaranteeing resource adequacy and system 10
reliability is increasingly challenging in a clean energy 11
future dominated by VERs without regional coordination. 12
As explained in the Direct Testimony of Alison 13
Williams, WRAP will accomplish two objectives: First, it 14
will provide transparency into resource adequacy across the 15
region. Second, it will serve as an insurance program of 16
sorts for participants by providing a mechanism to secure 17
energy and capacity in times of extreme need. 18
Q. How does WRAP assess resource adequacy for an19
entire region? 20
A. Resource adequacy is not a metric as much as21
it is an outcome of a utility having enough resources to 22
meet its load and achieve its reliability targets. WRAP’s 23
reliability targets—established with a planning reserve 24
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Idaho Power Company
margin (“PRM”)—create a resource supply buffer that can be 1
used to keep the lights on during extreme peak events. 2
WRAP conducts the same kind of resource adequacy 3
assessment as an individual utility but does so looking at 4
participants in the aggregate. As of January 2023, WRAP’s 5
participants include 20 utilities from the northwest, parts 6
of the southwest, Canada, and northern California. To 7
determine resource adequacy across the region, WRAP 8
assesses the load, resources, transmission capacity, and 9
peaking characteristics of all participants. 10
Recognizing that participants have varying 11
approaches to resource planning, WRAP assesses resource 12
adequacy for the region through consistent application of 13
metrics and methodologies for each participant. Further, 14
WRAP’s standardized methodology results in capacity 15
requirements for individual participants based on the 16
consistent treatment of all participants. 17
Q. How does WRAP’s assessment of resource 18
adequacy and reliability differ from Idaho Power’s? 19
A. While some similarities exist, WRAP’s and 20
Idaho Power’s methodologies for assessing reliability are 21
significantly different and, therefore, the results of the 22
two studies cannot be compared. 23
For example, on the surface, it appears WRAP and 24
Idaho Power use the same reliability threshold of 1-in-10 25
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Idaho Power Company
years—or a Loss of Load Expectation (“LOLE”) of 0.1 event-1
days per year.1 However, WRAP’s assessment only ensures that 2
the region’s LOLE does not exceed the 0.1 event-days per 3
year threshold for the summer and winter seasons, 4
separately. As such, WRAP conducts two separate LOLE 5
studies, one for the summer season and one for the winter 6
season. In contrast, Idaho Power conducts its LOLE study 7
over an entire year. 8
Additionally, WRAP plans to a 50th percentile (“P50”) 9
hourly peak load value, while Idaho Power plans to a 70th 10
percentile2 hourly peak load forecast. In this regard, Idaho 11
Power’s approach is more conservative to account for the 12
likelihood of more extreme weather events and water 13
volatility—both of which can greatly impact the Company’s 14
reliability. 15
In terms of assessing load, WRAP evaluates regional 16
demand for electricity by looking at participants’ 17
historical load, as opposed to developing a forecast based 18
on known and expected growth, as Idaho Power does in its 19
IRP. WRAP takes this historical approach to base its 20
1 In the 2021 IRP, Idaho Power used a 1-in-20-year reliability threshold
(or LOLE of 0.05 event-days per year). Based on feedback from the
Staffs of both the Idaho Public Utilities Commission and the Public
Utility Commission of Oregon, Idaho Power’s 2023 IRP will employ a 1-
in-10-year reliability threshold (or LOLE of 0.1 event-days per year).
2 The Company’s 2021 IRP utilized a 50th percentile hourly load
forecast.
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Idaho Power Company
estimates of demand on participants’ actual load service 1
data. 2
On the resource side, WRAP and Idaho Power have 3
different approaches to calculating the capacity 4
contribution of various resources. 5
Due to differing methodologies, WRAP’s assessment of 6
load and resources for Idaho Power does not match up with 7
Idaho Power’s forecast of its own load and resources. By 8
extension, WRAP’s monthly PRMs assigned to the Company are 9
not comparable to the annual PRM that Idaho Power utilizes 10
for the IRP. 11
Q. Is it reasonable for an individual participant 12
to plan in a different manner than WRAP? 13
A. Yes. Planning methodologies are likely to 14
differ between WRAP and individual participants. WRAP and a 15
utility’s IRP, while both related to resource adequacy and 16
reliability, have different purposes. WRAP is intended for 17
regional short-term, high-demand seasons, while the IRP is 18
intended for the long-term, more unpredictable future of a 19
utility’s system. Differing methodologies, therefore, 20
logically and reasonably reflect different purposes and 21
goals. 22
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Idaho Power Company
Q. As a WRAP participant, will Idaho Power retain 1
autonomy over its planning, reliability targets, and 2
generating resources? 3
A. Yes. WRAP participants retain full control 4
over their systems, planning, and reliability targets and 5
resource decisions. Further, WRAP’s capacity and delivery 6
requirements do not specify how much generation must come 7
from specific resource types. Rather, the program requires 8
a total amount of generation from any qualified resource. 9
Therefore, WRAP participation does not dictate or obligate 10
any one resource to serve load for the region. 11
Q. What are the components of WRAP? 12
A. WRAP is comprised of two parts: a forward-13
showing program and an operations program. Each program 14
plays an important role in assessing and addressing 15
resource adequacy and reliability for participating systems 16
across the region. The forward-showing program functions as 17
the near-term planning component of the program and 18
establishes reliability metrics for the region. The 19
forward-showing program ensures the footprint has enough 20
demonstrated capacity to meet the established reliability 21
metrics seven months in advance of the applicable WRAP 22
program season. WRAP observes two program seasons: the 23
summer season (June 1st to September 15th) and the winter 24
season (November 1st to March 15th). 25
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Idaho Power Company
Meanwhile, the operations program facilitates the 1
identification of real-time capacity needs and the sharing 2
of energy and capacity between participants during the 3
summer season and winter season. I describe both the 4
forward-showing program and the operations program in more 5
detail below. 6
II. WRAP FORWARD-SHOWING PROGRAM 7
Q. What is the function and purpose of the 8
forward-showing program? 9
A. WRAP’s forward showing begins with the program 10
operator performing an annual assessment, based on 11
participant provided data, that establishes reliability 12
metrics for the footprint, including the PRM and the 13
qualifying capacity contribution (“QCC”) of resources. 14
Through this process, the forward showing provides an early 15
and comprehensive picture of the region to ensure that, 16
collectively, the participants’ aggregate resources 17
relative to aggregate load will allow the region to 18
maintain an LOLE of 0.1 during each season. 19
Once the PRM is established for the footprint, 20
capacity requirements are applied to individual 21
participants. Finally, participants must prove they are 22
able to meet their capacity requirement through a 23
commensurate amount of QCC, which is demonstrated through 24
their forward-showing submittals. 25
Blackwell, DI 10
Idaho Power Company
Q. How many forward-showing submittals do 1
participants make and how often? 2
A. Participants are required to make one forward-3
showing submittal seven months before each season. So, each 4
participant is responsible for submitting two separate 5
forward-showings per year. Participants do not have the 6
option to submit only one season’s forward-showing. The 7
requirement to participate in both seasons guarantees that 8
the benefits of seasonal variability and diversity in load 9
and resources can be realized during each participant’s 10
individual peak season and that one season is not more 11
regionally supported than the other. 12
Q. Why is the forward showing so far in advance 13
of each WRAP season? 14
A. The seven-month timeframe allows adequate time 15
for the program operator to review each participants’ 16
forward-showing submittal and notify participants of any 17
identified deficiencies. The seventh-month advanced 18
planning window also supports a cure period whereby 19
participants can seek to procure additional capacity to 20
meet deficits and avoid forward-showing failure penalties. 21
This process ensures WRAP will meet its reliability targets 22
and also establishes a foundational understanding of 23
available capacity for day-ahead operations. 24
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Idaho Power Company
Q. What is included in each participant’s 1
forward-showing submittal? 2
A. The forward-showing submittal is a capacity 3
evaluation that includes three main items: 1) 4
identification of how much capacity a participant needs for 5
each month of the season, 2) a portfolio of QCC that 6
demonstrates the participant’s available resources and 7
generation that will meet their capacity requirement in 8
each month of a WRAP season, and 3) a demonstration of 9
transmission rights to deliver resources to load. 10
Q. How does WRAP determine each participant’s 11
capacity requirement? 12
A. As mentioned previously, once the PRM has been 13
established for the footprint, WRAP will determine capacity 14
requirements for individual participants. The capacity 15
requirement is determined by multiplying the PRM by the 16
participant’s load value, calculated by a WRAP-specific 17
methodology, for the season. To be clear, the capacity 18
requirement will vary by each month of the season as load 19
varies and as WRAP determines a PRM for each month of each 20
season. Capacity requirements for each season are given to 21
participants at least a year before the forward-showing 22
deadline for that season. This advance notice allows 23
participants to plan for their maximum capacity obligation 24
for the season and forward-showing submittal accordingly 25
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Idaho Power Company
and, as necessary, procure resources without penalty to 1
meet their obligations under WRAP. 2
Q. How does a participant prove they have met 3
WRAP’s requirements? 4
Participants demonstrate their ability to meet 5
their capacity requirements with a QCC portfolio. The QCC 6
portfolio totals up the capacity contribution from each 7
“qualifying resource” the participant plans to use to meet 8
their capacity requirements. 9
In addition to the QCC portfolio, participants are 10
required to submit proof of transmission service rights and 11
firm reservations that enable the participant to deliver 75 12
percent of their identified resources to their load. 13
After submitting a complete forward-showing 14
submittal, the program operator assesses the submittal to 15
determine whether the participant has demonstrated 16
sufficient capacity availability to fulfill their forward-17
showing requirement. 18
Q. What happens if a participant has insufficient 19
QCC to meet their capacity requirements? 20
A. After the forward-showing deadline, WRAP has 21
60 days to assess whether a participant’s submittal shows 22
they have sufficient capacity for the upcoming season. If 23
WRAP evaluates that a participant does not have sufficient 24
capacity, the participant has 60 days after being notified 25
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Idaho Power Company
by WRAP to remedy their insufficiency through resource 1
procurement. 2
After those 60 days, the participant either will 3
submit proof of their additional capacity or incur 4
penalties for non-compliance. Penalties—formally called 5
Deficiency Charges—are priced at a premium to ensure that 6
participants are not routinely out of compliance. More 7
discussion of Deficiency Charges is provided in the Direct 8
Testimony of Alison Williams. 9
Q. What resources are considered “qualified 10
resources” for the forward-showing submittal? 11
A. Any load or generation resource that meets the 12
qualifications and accreditation requirements, including 13
registration with WRAP, established in the FERC-approved 14
WRAP Tariff (“WRAP Tariff”)3 is considered a qualifying 15
resource. (Exhibit 1 is a copy of the FERC-approved WRAP 16
Tariff.) Therefore, all resource types, such as thermal 17
resources, VERs, energy storage, and demand response may be 18
qualifying resources. 19
Q. How does WRAP calculate the QCC for each 20
resource? 21
A. WRAP’s program operator determines each 22
qualified resource’s capacity contribution to be used in 23
the forward-showing calculations. 24
3 See Section 2 of the WRAP Tariff.
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Idaho Power Company
For VERs, energy storage, and hybrid resources that 1
include storage, the program operator uses the Effective 2
Load Carrying Capability (“ELCC”) methodology to quantify 3
capacity contribution. For thermal resources, the QCC is 4
determined using a methodology that considers the unit’s 5
forced outage rate and historical performance. Meanwhile, 6
other resource types, such as demand response, are 7
calculated using other testing methodologies4 and ELCC 8
studies. 9
Q. How will the forward-showing program impact 10
the timing of the Company’s current resource procurement 11
process? 12
A. While WRAP participation will not change the 13
need for market purchases to meet capacity requirements, it 14
may impact the timing of these purchases. The forward-15
showing program requires each participant to satisfy 16
capacity needs approximately seven months before the 17
operating season. As such, the forward-showing requirement 18
may shift some of the market purchases the Company would 19
otherwise make, as well as some of the transmission 20
reservations, earlier in time to ensure the forward-showing 21
requirements are met. 22
That being said, apart from the WRAP, the Company 23
anticipates it may still need to make additional purchases 24
4 Id., Section 16.2.5.
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Idaho Power Company
within the intervening seven months and as the operating 1
season approaches to ensure load can be served across all 2
hours. These purchases are needed today and will continue 3
to be needed to meet load service outside the context of 4
the WRAP. 5
For example, additional purchases may be necessary 6
to compensate for the unpredictable availability of certain 7
resources such as hydropower generation. The WRAP forward 8
showing may attribute more capacity to these resources than 9
they may actually have as the operating season approaches. 10
For example, a low-water year cannot be entirely predicted 11
seven months before the start of the summer season. 12
Therefore, the Company may need to make additional market 13
purchases, outside of the WRAP program, closer to the start 14
of the season to adjust for variability of hydropower 15
generation. 16
Q. How much of the forward-showing program is 17
contractual? 18
A. The forward-showing program does not produce 19
any contracts between participants. Participants will 20
continue to transact bilaterally with each other, or with 21
non-participants, outside the context of the program and 22
within any of the relevant time periods. Participants are 23
required to make forward-showing submittals so that the 24
program operator can assess resource adequacy in advance of 25
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Idaho Power Company
the season and to form the basis of evaluating when 1
capacity sharing is needed during the season, as I describe 2
in more detail below. If a participant does not have 3
adequate resources to meet the forward-showing requirement, 4
it may seek to transact bilaterally with participants or 5
non-participants to cure the deficiency (or else pay a 6
penalty), but the forward showing itself does not produce 7
additional contracts. A participant’s bilateral 8
transactions (that is, market purchases or sales) that 9
qualify for WRAP will be reflected in its forward-showing 10
submittal along with its other resources. 11
Within each WRAP operating season, participants will 12
bilaterally settle sharing events (i.e., for holdback 13
requirements and energy deployments), with the settlement 14
quantities and prices calculated and posted by WPP. 15
More simply stated, the forward-showing program lays 16
a foundation of load and capacity forecasting for the 17
operations program to later facilitate the sharing of 18
capacity. 19
III. WRAP OPERATIONS PROGRAM 20
Q. What is the function and purpose of the 21
operations program? 22
A. The operations program facilitates the sharing 23
of available capacity and resources, as established in the 24
forward-showing program, during tight capacity conditions 25
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Idaho Power Company
and short-term periods of capacity deficit. Importantly, 1
however, the operations program is not intended to replace 2
existing bilateral or other market purchases for near-term 3
load serving operations. 4
Q. How does the operations program facilitate the 5
sharing of capacity between participants? 6
A. Seven days before each operating day during a 7
WRAP operating season, WRAP’s program operator will 8
evaluate, on an hour-by-hour basis, what changes have 9
occurred in resource and capacity availability between the 10
forward-showing submittals and a WRAP-developed Multi-Day 11
Ahead Assessment of peak loads across the region.5 12
Due to a variety of factors (e.g., changes in 13
demand, changes in resource availability, unplanned 14
outages, and/or less-than-expected VER generation), some 15
participants may find themselves with near-term generation 16
capacity deficits. At the same time, some participants may 17
have additional generation capacity availability due to 18
lower-than-expected demand or other factors. Such near-term 19
forecasted deficits and surpluses are then used to assign 20
sharing requirements6 for the operating day. 21
5 Section 19.1 of the WRAP Tariff defines and describes the purpose of
the Multi-Day Ahead Assessment.
6 The sharing calculation is used to determine participants’ sharing
requirements. The formula is included in Section 20 of the WRAP Tariff.
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Idaho Power Company
Those with a forecasted capacity surplus will be 1
assigned a sharing requirement to help assist participants 2
with a forecasted capacity deficit. Each day leading up to 3
the operating day, the program operator will recalculate 4
participants’ sharing requirements based on updated load 5
and resource conditions.7 6
Then, the day before the operating day, the program 7
operator will receive confirmation of the amount of 8
capacity needed from participants in surplus to share with 9
those in deficit. Once the program operator receives this 10
confirmation, all participants with sharing requirements 11
will receive an official holdback requirement8 based on a 12
confirmed amount of needed capacity. 13
Based on updated conditions during the operating 14
day, participants in deficit will reaffirm their need no 15
later than 120 minutes before the hour that the capacity is 16
needed. Only then will holdback requirements be converted 17
into firm energy deployment. 18
Q. Does the holdback requirement represent “real” 19
capacity? 20
A. Yes. The holdback requirement represents real 21
capacity. It is capacity that the participants are 22
7 The formula for calculating sharing requirements is stated in Section
20 of the WRAP Tariff.
8 The formula for calculating holdback requirements is stated Section 20
of in the WRAP Tariff.
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Idaho Power Company
obligated to be capable to convert into an energy 1
deployment if called upon for the given hour in an 2
operating day. This capacity cannot be used or sold by the 3
participant until it is either released of its holdback 4
requirement or the capacity reserved is converted into real 5
energy deployment.9 Therefore, the reserved capacity must be 6
“real” and available to share with participants in need and 7
can be called upon for delivery with as little as 120 8
minutes of notice. 9
Q. Will a holdback requirement always result in 10
an actual energy deployment? 11
A. No. Holdback requirements will not be deployed 12
if not called upon by the participant in need. In addition, 13
holdback requirements may not be deployed due to the 14
location of transmission and system infrastructure relative 15
to the participant’s sharing and receiving capacity. Any 16
holdback requirements not identified in an energy 17
deployment will be released back to the participant. 18
Q. Are participants compensated for holding back 19
capacity for potential energy deployment? 20
A. Yes. Participants are compensated for the 21
capacity they hold back as part of the operations program 22
holdback requirements. Holdback compensation will be 23
9 WRAP Tariff Section 20.2.3 allows participants to transfer holdback
requirements to other participants, as a bilateral arrangement, with
notification to WPP.
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Idaho Power Company
proportional to the amount held back and for how long it 1
was held. As such, participants will not be negatively 2
impacted for holding back the capacity that may or may not 3
be fully used during energy deployment events. 4
Q. What is WRAP’s role once an energy deployment 5
is initiated? 6
A. WRAP’s role is to apply the WRAP Tariff rules 7
to calculate required quantities and pricing. Once an energy 8
deployment has been initiated, the participants themselves 9
are responsible for entering into bilateral transactions to 10
codify the WRAP Tariff-required quantity and price. That 11
being said, WPP10 is involved when a participant fails to 12
provide an energy deployment. In such an instance, WPP must 13
assess the situation and assign Delivery Failure Charges 14
depending on the conditions of the delivery failure. 15
Additional discussion of Delivery Failure Charges is 16
provided in the Direct Testimony of Alison Williams. 17
Q. How does WRAP price Holdback Requirements and 18
Energy Deployments? 19
A. The WRAP Tariff sets standard pricing for 20
Holdback Requirements and Energy Deployments.11 To reflect 21
the intended use of WRAP as a resource of last resort, WRAP 22
10 WRAP is a program governed by WPP. Therefore, any involvement in
WRAP-facilitated bilateral transactions will be done so by WPP.
11 The formula for capacity pricing is detailed in Section 21 of the
WRAP Tariff.
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Idaho Power Company
is priced in such a way to disincentivize its use and 1
encourage participants to resolve potential shortfalls 2
through bilateral purchases outside of WRAP. 3
If WRAP were to price capacity and energy below the 4
market, participants might rely on WRAP as a resource of 5
first resort and compromise the reliability benefits of the 6
program. 7
IV. TRANSMISSION DELIVERABILITY REQUIREMENTS 8
Q. Please describe the transmission and network 9
requirements needed for the deliverability component of 10
WRAP. 11
A. At the forward-showing submittal, WRAP 12
participants must demonstrate transmission service rights 13
that can deliver at least 75 percent of their forward-14
showing capacity requirement to load. The transmission 15
demonstrated must be, at a minimum, NERC priority 6 or 7 16
transmission service, otherwise known as firm transmission. 17
Q. What occurs if a participant does not 18
demonstrate sufficient transmission rights? 19
A. If a participant has not shown sufficient 20
procurement of transmission rights or contracts in their 21
forward-showing submittal — and has not qualified for one 22
of the allowed exceptions under the WRAP Tariff — the 23
participant can remedy their insufficiency during a two-24
month cure period after the forward-showing deadline to 25
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Idaho Power Company
avoid any transmission deficiency charges. Participants are 1
expected to use good faith efforts to timely cure any 2
deficiencies with additional transmission arrangements 3
before the two-month cure period ends. 4
Q. How does Idaho Power obtain transmission 5
capacity? 6
A. Even outside of WRAP, delivering resources to 7
load (and, in WRAP, to share energy with other 8
participants) requires Idaho Power to obtain transmission 9
capacity on the Company’s system, as well as other 10
utilities’ systems. Under FERC rules, each utility that 11
owns and operates a transmission system must operate those 12
functions independently. Therefore, Idaho Power, in its 13
load-serving role, reserves transmission capacity from the 14
Idaho Power transmission provider to deliver its resources 15
to its load, just as any other third-party customer would. 16
When the Company is importing energy from market 17
purchases, for example, the Company must reserve 18
transmission capacity on adjacent utilities’ transmission 19
systems as well as its own transmission system to import 20
that energy from where the Company takes delivery of it to 21
where it will serve load. The Company has reserved some 22
transmission on adjacent systems on a long-term firm basis, 23
for a year or more at a time, to ensure that transmission 24
is available to serve load when it is needed. The Company 25
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Idaho Power Company
additionally reserves the incremental transmission that is 1
needed closer to the operating day, including month-ahead, 2
week-ahead, and day-ahead operations. These additional 3
transmission reservations may be firm or non-firm depending 4
on what transmission capacity is available. 5
Q. Will Idaho Power change how it reserves 6
transmission capacity as a WRAP participant? 7
A. No. Under WRAP, Idaho Power will not change 8
how it goes about reserving transmission capacity. However, 9
the timing of when transmission capacity is reserved may be 10
impacted by WRAP participation. Because a certain amount of 11
transmission capacity availability is submitted as part of 12
the forward-showing program, it is possible participants 13
may need to reserve additional firm transmission capacity 14
sooner than they otherwise would for typical month-ahead, 15
week-ahead, or day-ahead operations, or else request one of 16
the exceptions described in the WRAP Tariff, to meet the 17
forward-showing requirements. 18
Q. Please summarize your testimony. 19
A. My testimony describes the function and 20
structure of WRAP, as well as the requirements of Idaho 21
Power as a participant. I specifically describe the 22
forward-showing and operational components, as well as 23
transmission deliverability requirements, of WRAP and how 24
these components work together to ultimately benefit 25
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Idaho Power Company
participants through the establishment of regional resource 1
adequacy. 2
Q. Does this conclude your testimony?3
A. Yes, it does.4
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Idaho Power Company
DECLARATION NICOLE BLACKWELL 1
I, Nicole Blackwell, declare under penalty of 2
perjury under the laws of the state of Idaho: 3
1. My name is Nicole Blackwell. I am employed 4
by Idaho Power Company as the Senior Energy Settlement 5
Analyst in the Power Supply Department. 6
2. On behalf of Idaho Power, I present this 7
pre-filed direct testimony in this matter. 8
3. To the best of my knowledge, my pre-filed 9
direct testimony is true and accurate. 10
I hereby declare that the above statement is true to 11
the best of my knowledge and belief, and that I understand 12
it is made for use as evidence before the Idaho Public 13
Utilities Commission and is subject to penalty for perjury. 14
15
SIGNED this 14th day of March 2023, at Boise, Idaho. 16
17
Signed: 18
19
BEFORE THE
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
CASE NO. IPC-E-23-08
IDAHO POWER COMPANY
BLACKWELL, DI
TESTIMONY
EXHIBIT NO. 1
Exhibit No. 1 Case No. IPC-E-23-08 N. Blackwell, IPC
Page 1 of 86
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