20150323Comment.pdf

SNOWMASS ASPEN MOUNTAIN ASPEN HIGHLANDS BUTTERMILK A $PEN $N 0 W M A $S®
ASPEN SKIING COMPANY
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tVlarch 17,2015 UtUIl_-‘‘‘-—‘
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
P0 Box 83720
Boise,ID $3720
Re:IPE-E-15-01
Dear Commissioners:
Thank you for the opportunity to comment on Idaho Power’s filing with the PUC
to shorten the length of PURPA contracts.
Aspen Skiing Company is a four-season resort based in Colorado.We own and
operate four ski mountains,two hotels,and 1$restaurants,employing 3,500 people
in winter.We are now developing a 100-room hotel in downtown Ketchum.
While we’re pleased to be moving some of our business to Idaho,and to creating
permanent jobs in the Ketchum area,one barrier to this move has been Idaho
Power’s lack of support for solar energy.As a business,we have a commitment to
climate solutions,because climate change threatens our business.A 2010 study1
showed that in low snow years,which scientists tell us we’ll see more of in a
warming world,Idaho loses 523,105 M skier visits (a 17%decline)and $43.2 M in
revenue.Nationally low snow years generate a billion dollars less revenue than
good snow years.If we’re building a hotel,we want to make sure we can fill it in
the winter.
At the same time,we’ve noticed that the fixes to the climate problem tend to create
jobs and boost the economy.We have 4,000 wind power jobs in Colorado.And
we’ve watched as the solar industry here has created jobs and bolstered the local
economy with in-state income,both through wages and also through savings that
‘http://protectourwinters.org/climate_report/report.pdf
P.O.Box 1248
Aspen,CO 81612.1248
970.925.1220
www.aspensnowmass.com Printed on flenyded Paper
result from rooftop energy production.(In contrast,the mayor of Ketchum tells us
that $35 million per year leaves Idaho to pay for energy generated out of state.)We
have installed 175 kilowatts of solar energy ourselves,and we’re making money on
it.Our utility here supports the installations,and we plan to do more.
Idaho Power’s desire to reduce the length of PURPA contracts is intended to
reduce the number of new solar installations in its service territory.Shorter
contracts will do just that,because financing for solar works through 15+year
proformas,and can’t be financed on shorter timeframes.That suits Idaho Power
because solar is a threat to their business model.The more people and businesses
that generate their own power,the less income they make.Beyond being
anticompetitive and monopolistic,this approach is archaic.It bucks an inevitable
trend towards deployment of increasingly cheap distributed power,of which solar
is only one form.Idaho Power will go out of business if it keeps its head in the
sand,which in itself will be a disservice to customers.Like utilities in Germany,it
will need to change its business structure to stay viable.Delaying that change
doesn’t make sense.
Please reject Idaho power’s request to shorten the length of contracts for new
renewable energy.And we’d ask you to go even further,exploring ways to help
Idaho power profitably move into the modern world of distributed power and clean
energy.
Sincerely
Auden Schendler
Vice President,Sustainability