171116 Rocky Mountain IRP.pdf

Case No. PAC-E-17-03
Contact: Matt Evans
[phone] office
[phone] cell
www.puc.idaho.gov

Comment deadline set for Rocky Mountain
Power’s Integrated Resource Plan
BOISE (Nov. 16, 2017) – Rocky Mountain Power expects to transition away from coal over
the next 20 years, according to the utility’s long-range planning document filed with state
regulators.

Rocky Mountain Power’s Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) calls for the retirement of more
than 3,500 megawatts of coal-fired generation.

That generation is expected to be replaced primarily with renewables such as wind and
solar, according to the IRP. Efficiency measures, two new natural gas facilities and
wholesale power purchases are also expected to help meet the demand for energy through
2036.

Regulated utilities are required to file an updated IRP with the Idaho Public Utilities
Commission every two years.

The IRP serves as a status report outlining the company’s ongoing plans for providing
adequate and reliable electric service to its customers at the lowest cost and least risk for
the next 20 years.

The Commission’s acknowledgement of the plan does not necessarily mean the projects
highlighted will be completed, but rather that the utility has met its long-range planning
requirements.

The Commission is accepting written comments on Rocky Mountain Power’s IRP through
Jan. 12, 2018.
In addition to the retirement of 3,650 MW of generating capacity at several coal-fired
plants through 2037, the utility’s preferred course of action calls for 1,959 MW of new wind
resources, 905 MW of upgraded or “repowered” wind resources and 1,040 MW of new
solar generation through 2036.

The IRP indicates more than half of the new wind (1,100 MW) will be in service in
Wyoming by the end of 2020, along with upgrades to 905 MW of existing wind resources.

These facilities must be operational by the end of 2020 in order to receive the full benefits
of federal wind production tax credits.

The electricity generated at the new wind facilities would be carried via a new 140-mile,
500-kilovolt transmission line in Wyoming that is expected to relieve congestion on Rocky
Mountain’s transmission system.

After 2020, the utility’s preferred portfolio calls for 859 MW of new wind, including the
addition of 774 MW in Idaho in 2036.

The IRP also calls for 1,040 MW of new solar resources to come online between 2028 and
2036, with the majority installed in Utah beginning in 2031.

The first new natural gas-fired resource is expected to be added in 2029, a year later than
anticipated in the 2015 IRP.
Demand-side management resources (DSM), which include energy efficiency and
conservation, are expected to play a key role in helping the company meet customers’
demand for electricity.

The IRP indicates incremental energy-efficiency resources are expected to provide a 2,077
MW reduction, enough to meet 88 percent of the forecasted load growth through 2026.

The company’s DSM resources also include load control programs capable of shifting
energy use among customers away from periods of peak demand for energy. This shift
helps the utility avoid or defer the need for new power plants.

Customers enrolled in load control programs allow the utility to remotely curtail their
energy use – shutting down irrigation pumps, for example - in exchange for incentives such
as reduced rates or a bill credit.

The 2017 IRP calls for load control to be capable of reducing the demand for energy, or
load, by 365 MW by the end of the planning period. The company’s previous IRP called for
load control programs to have a load-shedding capacity of less than 50 MW.

Rocky Mountain’s 2017 IRP does not anticipate upgrades to coal plants in order to meet
environmental regulations, a decision that will “save customers hundreds of millions of
dollars,” according to the company. Instead, the IRP calls for the retirement of those coal-
fired units.

The company expects to offset a portion of that lost generation with market purchases,
although Rocky Mountain intends to construct two new natural gas facilities – a 200-MW
frame simple cycle combustion turbine in 2029, and a 436-MW combined combustion
turbine in 2030.

Over the life of the IRP, the preferred portfolio includes 1,313 MW of new natural-gas
capacity. That is a reduction of 1,540 MW relative to the 2015 IRP.

Comments on Rocky Mountain’s IRP can be sent via e-mail here, or by accessing the
commission's web site at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on "Case Comment Form" under the
"Consumers" heading, enter the case number (PAC-E-17-03) and enter your comments.
Comments may also be mailed to P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID, 83720-0074 or faxed to
[phone].

The company’s application, IRP and other documents related to the case are available on
the Commission’s web site. To review them, click on “Open Cases” under the “Electric”
heading and scroll down to the case number, PAC-E-17-03. Or go here.