20201021Final_Order_No_34820.pdf

ORDER NO. 34820 1

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
October 21, 2020

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

IN THE MATTER OF THE ANNUAL
REVISION TO QF VARIABLE ENERGY
PRICES PURSUANT TO THE 1992
AMENDMENT TO POWER PURCHASE
AGREEMENTS BETWEEN IDAHO QFS
AND PACIFICORP
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CASE NO. PAC-E-20-08

ORDER NO. 34820

On June 4, 2020, Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp ( “Company”) asked
the Commission to approve the Company’s annual update to the variable energy portion of avoided
cost rates under the 1992 Amendment to the Company’s power purchase agreements with
qualifying facilities (“QFs”) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”).
The Company requested an effective date of July 1, 2020.
On June 26, 2020, the Commission issued a Notice of Application, Notice of
Suspension of Proposed Effective Date, and Notice of Modified Procedure that established
deadlines for interested persons to file comments on the Application. Order No. 34706.
Now, having reviewed the record, the Commission approves the Application.
BACKGROUND
The 1992 Amendment to the Company’s power purchase agreements describes how to
calculate the variable energy price component of the avoided cost rate for 13 QFs. Order No.
28708. The variable energy rate is calculated by summing the average of the Company’s fuel costs
for its Carbon, Hale, Naughton, Huntington, and Hunter coal-fired generation plants with the
variable operations and maintenance costs for Colstrip. See e.g., Order Nos. 24253, 28708, 29316.
The 1992 Amendments began adjusting the variable energy price component annually in 2003.
The Company is to file its revised variable energy costs by June 1 of each year, and the update
takes effect on July 1. Order No. 29316.
In prior years, the Commission would approve the annual update by order after
Commission Staff sent a letter to the Company asking the Company to review and confirm Staff’s
updated calculation. This year, and similar to newly adopted procedures to other annual updates
to avoided cost rates, the Commission decided to process this annual update via Modified
Procedure. See GNR-E-20-01, AVU-E-20-04, and IPC-E-20-24.

ORDER NO. 34820 2

COMMENTS
Commission Staff filed the only comments. Commission Staff reviewed and confirmed
the Company correctly calculated the variable energy rate. Staff noted that the Carbon and Hale
plants no longer operate and were properly excluded from the calculations. Staff recommended
the Commission approve the change to the variable energy rate from $23.84 per MWh to $23.07
per MWh for the 13 QFs with the 1992 Amendments, effective July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DECISION
The Commission has jurisdiction over the Company, an electric utility, under Title 61
of the Idaho Code and PURPA. The Commission has authority under PURPA and Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) regulations to set avoided costs, to order electric utilities to
enter into fixed-term obligations for the purchase of energy from QFs, and to implement FERC
rules.
The Commission has reviewed and considered the record. The Company has correctly
calculated its proposed revision to the adjustable portion of the avoided cost rate in its QF contracts
with the 1992 Amendment. We find the resulting adjusted rate to be fair, just, and reasonable.
O R D E R
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the variable energy rate for deliveries from July 1,
2020 through June 30, 2021, for Company QF contracts having the 1992 Amendment shall be
$23.07 per MWh.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order with regard to any
matter decided in this Order. Within seven (7) days after any person has petitioned for
reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for reconsideration. See Idaho Code § 61-
626.

ORDER NO. 34820 3
DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 21st
day of October 2020.

PAUL KJELLANDER, PRESIDENT

KRISTINE RAPER, COMMISSIONER

ERIC ANDERSON, COMMISSIONER

ATTEST:

Jan Noriyuki
Commission Secretary

I:\Legal\ELECTRIC\PAC-E-20-08\PACE2008_final order_ej.docx