20130830Weston Rebuttal.pdf

VROCKY MOUNTAIN-(ptwea
\ A OTVTSTON OF BACTFTCOnP
August 30,2013
Jean D. Jewell
Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472W. Washington
Boise, ID 83702
Attention: Jean D. Jewell
Commission Secretary
RE: CASE NO. PAC-E-13-04
IN TIIE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION
TO INITIATE DISCUSSIONS WITH
ALTERNATIVE RATE PROPOSALS
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201 South Main, Suite 2300
Salt Lake City, Utah 84'111
OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
INTERESTED PARTIES ON
Enclosed please find the original and nine (9) copies of the rebuttal testimony and exhibit of J.
Ted Weston in support of the Stipulation that was filed on June 3, 2013.
Please contact J. Ted Weston at [phone] if you have any further questions.
Sincerely,
Q-,[ 4'fih
Daniel E. Solander
Senior Counsel
Enclosures
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I hereby certiry that on this 30m day ofAugust,2013, I caused to be served, via electronic mail, a frue and
correct copy of Rocky Mountain Power's Stipulation Testimony in PAC-E-13-04 to the following:
Ted Weston
Rocky Mountain Power
201 South Main, Suite 2300
Salt Lake Ciry, UT 841I I
ted. weston@pacifi corp.com
Data Request Response Center
PacifiCorp
datarequest{@p aci fi corp. com
Randall C. Budge
Racine, Olson, Nyc, Budge & Bailey
201 E. Center
P0 Box l39l
Pocatello, ID 83204-1 391
E-Mail: [e-mail]
James R. Smith
Monsanto Company
P.O. Box 816
Soda Springs,lD 83276
Jim.r. smith @monsanto. com
Anthony Yankel
29814 Lake Road
Bay Village, OH 44144
[e-mail]
Ronald Williams
Williams Bradbury, P.C.
1015 W. Hays St.
Boise, ID 83702
ron@wil liamsbradbury. com
Tim Buller
Agrium, Inc.
3010 Conda Rd.
SodaSprings,lD 83276
[e-mail]
Brad Purdy
Attomey atLaw
2019 N. l7s St.
Bosie, ID 83702
[e-mail]
Daniel E. Solander
Rocky Mountain Power
201 South Main. Suite 2300
Salt Lake City, UT 841I I
daniel.solander@pacifi corp.com
Ken Miller
Snake River Alliance
Box l73l
Boise, ID 83701
km iller@snakeri vera[[i ance.org
Neil Price
Deputy Aftomey General
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
47 2 W, Washington (837 02)
P0 Box 83720
Boise,ID 83720-0074
neil.price@puc. i daho. gov
Eric L. Olsen
Racine, Olson, Nye, Budge & Bailey
20I E. Center
P0Box l39l
Pocatello, ID 83204-1 39 I
[e-mail]
Brubaker & Associates
16690 Swingley Ridge Rd., #140
Chesterfield, MO 63017
[e-mail]
Benjamin J. Otto
Idaho Conservation League
7lo N. 6'r'st.
Boise, ID 83702
[e-mail]
Don Schoenbeck
RCS, Inc.
900 Washington St., Suite 780
Vancouver, WA 98660
[e-mail]
IN THE MATTER OF THE
APPLICATION OF ROCKY
MOUNTAIN POWER TO INITIATE
DISCUSSIONS WITH INTERESTEI)
PARTIES ON ALTERNATTVE RATE
PLAN PROPOSALS
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CASE NO. PAC.E.13-04
Stipulation Rebuttal Testimony
of J. Ted Weston
BEFORE TIIE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
CASE NO. PAC-E-13.04
August 2013
I Q. Please state your name, business address, and present position with Rocky
2 Mountain Power (the 6'Company"), a division of PaciliCorp.
3 A. My name is J. Ted Weston and my business address is 201 South Main, Suite
4 2300, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84111. I am currently employed as the Manager of
5 Idaho Regulatory Affairs.
6 Q. Are you the same J. Ted Weston who submitted stipulation testimony in this
7 proceeding?
8 A. Yes.
9 PURPOSE OF TESTIMONY
l0 a. What is the purpose of your rebuttal testimony in this proceeding?
I I A. The purpose of my testimony is to respond to the testimony filed by Community
12 Action Partnership of Idaho ("CAPAI") witness Ms. ChristinaZamora. Although
13 Ms. Zamora's testimony touches on a number of subjects that are irrelevant to this
14 proceeding, I will largely limit my response to the issues gerrnane to the
15 Stipulation, and also briefly address the most egregious misstatements contained
16 in her testimony regarding CAPAI's Motion to Compel and the Company's
17 response to the data request that was the basis for the motion.
18 a. Does Rocky Mountain Power agree with the concerns raised by CAPAI
19 regarding the procedural handling of the Company's alternative rate plan
20 proposal?
2l A. No. Rocky Mountain Power strongly disagrees with CAPAI's characterization of
22 the process that resulted in the Stipulation pending before this Commission. On
23 March l,2Ol3, the Company made two filings with the Commission. In order to
Weston, Re - I
Rocky Mountain Power
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preserve its right to file a general rate case, it filed a Notice of Intent to file a
general rate case, and a separate application requesting that the Commission open
and notice a case with the intent of identifying interested parties that would like to
participate in alternative rate plan discussions (the "Application"). The Notice of
Intent was filed to comply with Commission noticing requirements that would
allow the Company to file a general rate case after May 31, 2013, in accordance
with the timing agreed to in the stipulation in the Company's 201I general rate
case, Case No. PAC-E-ll-t2 (the "201I GRC Stipulation"), in the event that the
alternative rate plan discussions were unsuccessful. The Company filed the
Application early to provide time for parties to discuss alternatives to a general
rate case. It was this alternative Application that led to this proceeding and the
Stipulation that is before the Commission for approval.
After the Commission noticed the Company's Application, Rocky
Mountain Power worked closely over several months with the Commission staff
and the other intervening parties to craft a solution that provided adequate notice
to all parties, complied with Commission rules, and eliminated the need for the
general rate case filing that the Company had put parties on notice of through the
required Notice of Intent filing it had made. This effon was undertaken by all
parties with great care and attention to proper Idaho Public Utilities Commission
protocol for settlement discussions. The statements in Ms. Zamora's testimony
that the Company violated the timing for filing a general rate case agreed to in the
201I GRC Stipulation and that the current Stipulation arose out of an application
filed before May 31, 2013, ignore the fundamental fact that Rocky Mountain
Weston, Re - 2
Rocky Mountain Power
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Power did not file a general rate case application, but instead worked with the
parties to craft an alternative that was acceptable to a broad cross-section of Idaho
customers and stakeholders.
How does the Stipulation address the very concern that Ms. Zamora raises
regarding the general trend of more frequent general rate case filings?
The Stipulation eliminated the current need for a general rate case and avoids a
change in base rates as a result of a general rate case until at least January l, 2016,
which means customers will enjoy at least a three-year period between general
rate case rate changes. The Stipulation appears to address the very issue that Ms.
Zamora is concerned about.
Please respond to Ms. T.amora's allegations that Roclry Mountain Power
failed to respond to CAPAI's data request?
The statements in Ms. Zamora's testimony and exhibit arguing that the Company
has refused or failed to provide a response to CAPAI's discovery requests are
completely false. The real issue is that Ms. Zamorajust didn't like the answer
that was provided. The Company had not prepared the analysis that they had
requested and, therefore, had nothing to give them. Rocky Mountain Power's
complete response was timely provided on May 29,2013. Later, following the
filing of the Company's Response to CAPAI's Motion to Compel, Rocky
Mountain Power completed an analysis responsive to the request made by CAPAI
and provided it to them on August 12, 2073. A true and correct copy of the
response is provided as Exhibit No. 4 to my testimony. The spreadsheet that was
provided is similar to the format of similar data responses that have been provided
Weston, Re - 3
Rocky Mountain Power
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to CAPAI in other proceedings, including the Company's current Washington
general rate case. As noted in the response to CAPAI Data Request 6b, due to the
almost unlimited combinations for block rates and the vagueness of the question,
in order to be responsive the Company provided two rate design scenarios.
Additionally, the Company provided all data necessary so that CAPAI could
explore other rate design scenarios and bill impacts. The Company's response to
Ms. Zamora's other incorrect assertions regarding the Company's failure to
respond to CAPAI's discover request is fully contained in the Company's
Response to CAPAI's Motion to Compel, which was filed with the Commission
on August g,2}l3.l
Does this conclude your rebuttal testimony?
Yes.
' The arguments in Ms. Zamora's testimony regarding the failure to respond seem particularly
inappropriate considering the Motion to Compel was withdrawn by CAPAI on August 14,2013.
Weston, Re - 4
Rocky Mountain Power
Case No. PAC-E-13-04
Exhibit No. 4
Witness: J. Ted Weston
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
ROCKY MOT]NTAIN POWER
Exhibit Accompanfng Stipulation Rebuttal Testimony of J. Ted Weston
August 2013
Rocky Mountain Po,\,er
Exhibit No. 4 Page 1 of 6
Case No. PAC-E-I$04
Vvitness: J. Ted Weston
PAC-E- I 3-04lRocky Mountain Power
August 12,2013
CAPAI Data Request 6
CAPAI Data Request 6
Using the Company's low-income proxy group, and based on actual monthly test
year data as referred to in Request No.4, please make the following rate design
model runs:
a. Calculate the effects on the low-income customer proxy group's
monthly bills if the Company's monthly basic charge were increased from its
current level to $10, $15 and to $20, (assuming no changes to the existing
commodity rates for the Residential class's two-tiered rate). [n responding to this
request, please make the requested calculations at existing rates during the test
year.
b. Assuming no change to the Company's existing monthly basic
charge, calculate the effects on the low-income proxy groups' monthly bills in
comparison to non-low income residential customers (using test year actual
monthly consumption) ifthe existing two-tiered rate design is changed such that
the consumption amount of the first tier is increased from the existing 700 kwh
summer block to 800 kWh/month, 1000 kWh and 1200 kwh. Please provide the
same data for the winter block of 1000 kWh if the block were changed to 800
kwh, 1200 kWh and 1400 kwh.
I't Supplemental Response to CAPAI Data Request 6
a. Please refer to Attachment CAPAI DR 6a (provided on May 29,2013) for the
requested monthly bill impact analysis for the low-income customer proxy
group who were under Schedule I in2012.
b. Please refer to Attachment CAPAI DR 6b 1't Supplemental for the requested
monthly bill impact analysis between the low-income proxy group and non-
low-income group under Schedule l. Since there are almost unlimited
combinationi of I't block and 2nd block rates for each block under a revenue-
neutral scenario, the analysis provided two rate design options: Option A
keeps the ratio of the requested I't block and 2nd block rates same as the ratio
of current 1 't block and 2"d block rates; Option B keeps the requested I 't block
rate same as the current ltt block rate. The attachment contains all necessary
billing determinants that CAPAI may use to explore any other rate design
scenarios and the bill impacts.
Record holder: James Zhang
Sponsor: Joelle Steward
Rocky Mountain Poiver
Exhibit No. 4 Page 2 ot 6
Case No. PAC-E-I3-04
\Mtness: J. Ted V\reston
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