130920_IPCIRP.pdf

Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Case No. IPC-E-13-15, Order No. 32868
September 20, 2013
Contact: Gene Fadness [phone], 890-2712
Website: www.puc.idaho.gov

Commission taking comment on Idaho Power growth plan

An Idaho Power Company long-range growth plan is counting on completion of a transmission
line from Boardman, Oregon to Melba as its major new resource for power generation over the
next 20 years.
Idaho Power’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) projects the 500-kV line will bring in about 500
megawatts of additional power from Northwest energy markets into Idaho Power’s southern
Idaho territory.
Idaho’s regulated electric utilities are required to file an IRP every two years with the Idaho
Public Utilities Commission. The plan explains how the utility intends to provide adequate and
reliable service to its growing customer base at the lowest cost possible over the next two
decades. The commission is taking public comment on the plan through Nov. 7.
The IRP is for planning purposes only and is updated to account for changing circumstances.
Even if the Idaho Public Utilities Commission accepts the plan, the resource projects outlined
must still be reviewed and evaluated for their need and prudency on a case-by-case basis.
Idaho Power anticipates that its customer base will increase from the current 500,000 to about
670,000 by 2032 for an average load increase of 21 MW per year, or 1.1 percent annual growth.

Completion of the transmission line, expected in 2018, along with procuring another 150 MW
through energy efficiency and demand reduction programs, was found to be the least cost of
nine potential resource portfolios the utility considered, according to the company.

The transmission project has been in Idaho Power’s IRP since 2006. The utility is still working on
acquiring the necessary regulatory approvals and permitting. Idaho Power has a joint funding
agreement for the transmission line with the Bonneville Power Administration and PacifiCorp,
which includes eastern Idaho as part of its service territory.

The company hopes to have 150 MW of increased energy efficiency and demand reduction in
place by 2017 and increasing that to 370 MW by 2032. A major upgrade of the Shoshone Falls
hydroelectric plant, from its current 12.5 MW to 61.5 MW, is set to be completed by 2019.

The utility is also planning on upgrades at two out-of-state coal plants it co-owns with other
utilities. Idaho Power currently has a case before the commission seeking authority to include
about $130 million in customer rates for emissions control upgrades at the Jim Bridger plant
near Rock Springs and the North Valmy plant near Winnemucca. A technical hearing in that case
is scheduled for Nov. 22.

The Bridger plant, of which Idaho Power owns one-third, provides 770 MW of capacity to Idaho
Power customers and the Valmy plant another 283 MW. Idaho Power owns 50 percent of the
Valmy plant.

Idaho Power also owns 17 hydroelectric projects, three natural gas-fired plants and one diesel-
powered plant. About 45 percent of the utility’s generation comes from hydroelectric
resources, 30 percent from coal, 14 percent from long-term power purchases, 7 percent from
market-purchased power and 4 percent from natural gas and diesel projects. Of the long-term
power purchase contracts, 63 percent of the generation comes from wind and 22 percent from
hydroelectric resources. The company buys about 789 MW from 103 projects that qualify under
the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA. It also buys all the output from the 100-
MW Elkhorn Valley wind project in northeast Oregon.

Copies of the plan are available on the commission’s Web site at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on
“Open Cases” under the Electric heading and scroll down to Case No. IPC-E-13-15. To make
comments from the website, click on “Case Comment or Question Form” under the Consumers
heading and enter the above case number. Comments can also be mailed to P.O. Box 83720,
Boise, ID 83720-0074 or faxed to [phone].
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