Website:
www.puc.idaho.gov
Commission
approves Avista-Thompson River contract
The
Idaho Public Utilities Commission has approved a 20-year power purchase
agreement between Avista Utilities and Thompson River Co-Gen, LLC, a
cogeneration facility near Thompson Falls, Mont.
Under
the agreement, Avista will pay $58.50 per megawatt hour to Thompson River for
up to 11.99 average megawatts per year. For all surplus energy, Avista will pay
the current month’s market price.
While
the project does meet the requirements for a Qualifying Facility under the
provisions of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA), it is
not a conventional PURPA contract.
Congress passed PURPA during the energy crisis of the late 1970s. The act
requires that electric utilities offer to buy power produced by small-power
producers or cogenerators who obtain Qualifying Facility (QF) status. The rate
to be paid project developers is set and published by state commissions and 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
parties negotiated a rate that is less than the $61.60 per MWh rate published
by the commission for most PURPA contracts, but is greater than the rate wanted
by Avista of $49 per MWh.
The
Thompson River plant generates power from coal and from wood waste produced by
a nearby sawmill. The commission received a number of comments from
environmental organizations, including Women’s Voices for the Earth, expressing
concern about the impacts of the project on environmental and public health in
the Thompson Falls area due primarily to the plant’s coal generation.
The
commission ruled that these issues are beyond the commission’s statutory
jurisdiction and should be raised with Montana agencies that do have
jurisdiction over environmental and health issues.
The
Northwest Energy Coalition asked for a public hearing to more closely examine
whether the project qualifies as a PURPA project, the capacity levels of the
project, the rates proposed and the environmental integrity of the plant. The
commission said a public hearing is not necessary, primarily because purchases
from qualifying PURPA facilities are mandated by federal law. The commission
also said Avista is not sidestepping the Idaho moratorium on construction and
permitting of coal-fired projects in Idaho because the project is not located
inside the state. Idaho utilities already buy power and are part owners of coal
projects outside the state.
A full text of the
commission’s order, along with other documents related to this case, are
available on the commission’s Web site at www.puc.idaho.gov.
Click on “File Room” and then on “Electric Cases” and scroll down Case No.
AVU-E-05-07.
Interested parties may petition the commission for reconsideration by no later than Nov. 17. Petitions for reconsideration must set forth specifically why the petitioner contends that the order is unreasonable, unlawful or erroneous. Petitions should include a statement of the nature and quantity of evidence the petitioner will offer if reconsideration is granted.
Petitions can be delivered
to the commission at 472 W. Washington St. in Boise, mailed to P.O. Box 83720,
Boise, ID, 83720-0074, or faxed to 208-334-3762.