140225_IPCIRP.pdf

Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Case No. IPC-E-13-15, Order No. 32980
February 26, 2014
Contact: Gene Fadness [phone], 890-2712
Website: www.puc.idaho.gov

Idaho Power counting on increased transmission,
demand reduction to meet customer growth

To meet modest load growth over the next 20 years, Idaho Power Company is counting on
completion of a transmission line from Boardman, Ore., to Melba and the use of programs to
reduce electric demand.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission this week accepted Idaho Power’s biennial Integrated
Resource Plan (IRP). Commission staff agreed that the transmission line and programs to incent
reduced demand are the least-cost, least-risk alternatives for the next two decades, although
staff did express some reservation that the transmission line would be built by the targeted
2018 date. Idaho Power maintains it has enough demand-response capacity to meet customer
demand through 2020 whether the transmission line is completed or not.
Idaho Power’s plan projects the 500-kV Boardman-to-Hemingway 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 to accommodate
for changing conditions. “By accepting the company’s filing, we acknowledge only the
company’s ongoing planning process, not the conclusions or results reached through that
process,” the commission said. The commission requires that utilities allow the public to
participate and comment during the IRP process.
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.

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, 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.

Two environmental groups who intervened in the case, the Snake River Alliance and the Idaho
Conservation League, said Idaho Power did not give demand reduction the same focus as it did
increasing supply. The company disagreed, stating that it considers demand-side and supply-
side resources equally.

The same groups also assert that Idaho Power is underestimating the cost of continuing coal
generation in light of existing and potential federal regulation of carbon-related emissions.
Further, they argue the company is not adequately considering the risk of depending on coal
from plants in other states where Idaho Power is only part-owner. For example, Idaho Power
continues to plan on about 220 megawatts of output from the North Valmy plant near
Winnemucca, Nev. Idaho Power co-owns the plant with NV Energy. NV Energy indicates it will
retire its two units of the plant in 2021 and 2025 respectively.

The Snake River Alliance and Idaho Conservation League maintain Idaho Power has other
options to replace coal, including customer-owned solar generation. Idaho Power argues that
its summer peak generation capacity needs are greater than what can be provided by other
sources.

The commission said it expects Idaho Power to “collaborate with stakeholders on how best to
use energy efficiency as a resource, to be actively involved in matters relating to Valmy and to
promptly apprise us of developments that could impact the company’s continued reliance on
that coal-fired resource.”

In addition to part ownership of coal plants in Boardman, Valmy and Fort Bridger, 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 commission’s order accepting the IRP and comments from other parties 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. Parties may file for
reconsideration no later than March 17.
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