140303_IPCBannockCty.pdf

Idaho Public Utilities Commission
Case No. IPC-E-13-24, Order No. 32986
March 3, 2014
Contact: Gene Fadness [phone]

Commission OKs Idaho Power sales agreement
with Bannock County landfill-to-gas plant
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has approved a 20-year sales agreement between Idaho
Power Company and Bannock County’s landfill-to-gas energy plant near Pocatello.
Bannock County plans to initially install a 1.6-megawatt generation unit and then install another
1.6-MW unit within five years. The scheduled operation date for the first phase is May 1.
The Bannock County facility qualifies under the provisions of the Public Utility Regulatory
Policies Act of 1978, or PURPA. The act requires that electric utilities offer to buy power
produced from qualifying small-power producers. The rate to be paid small-power producers is
determined by the commission and is called an “avoided-cost rate” because it is to be equal to
the cost the electric utility avoids if it would have had to generate the power itself or purchase
it from another source. The commission must ensure the avoided-cost rate is reasonable for
utility customers because 100 percent of the price utilities pay to qualifying small-power
producers is included in customer rates.
The agreement includes “non-levelized” payments from Idaho Power to Bannock County that
gradually increase throughout the life of the contract. Beginning this year, the avoided-cost
rate for projects of this type is $42.35 per megawatt-hour, though that amount is adjusted
slightly downward during light-load hours of the day and season and upward during heavy-load
hours and seasons. In 2033, at the end of the contract, the price would be $99.72 per MWh.

A full text of the commission’s order, along with other documents related to this case, is
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 Number IPC-E-13-24.

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