Website:
www.puc.idaho.gov
PUC
accepts Intermountain plan, but wants more data in the future
The
Idaho Public Utilities Commission is accepting a five-year growth plan
submitted by Intermountain Gas Co., but is asking the company to provide more
information in future documents.
Regulated
gas and electric utilities are required to file Integrated Resource Plans or
IRPs, to keep the public and the commission apprised of utilities’ plans to
meet the demands of growth. The plans, however, are only a guideline.
Acceptance of the plans does not necessarily mean the commission will approve
all the plan’s projects when they come before the commission for ratemaking
treatment.
Intermountain
Gas serves about 275,800 customers in southern Idaho. The Boise-based
distributor has customers in 74 communities. Its system includes more than
10,000 miles of transmission, distribution and service lines. In fiscal year
2005, more than 446 miles of distribution and service lines were added to
accommodate growth. The plan, which anticipates demand for 2007-11, anticipates
a 4 percent customer growth rate in its southern Idaho territory during that
period.
Commissioners
said the company did not provide enough information regarding the relationship
between its demand forecast and the cost-effectiveness of its conservation
programs.
The
commission said that IRPs filed by utilities are “not meant to be merely an
academic or regulatory exercise, but a showing to the public that the company
has prepared for, and has considered, a multitude of scenarios. We expect each
company submitting an IRP to vigorously test each assumption used in its plan
to ensure that the results of the IRP reflect the changing markets and demand,
and Intermountain is no exception.”
The
commission said Intermountain Gas fulfilled most of the IRP requirements and
“we appreciate the company’s attention to and efforts regarding those
requirements. For certain requirements, however, we find that the company did
not apply the same rigor.”
Future
IRPs should include more details about the models used by the company to
forecast demand, including more details about economic factors, customer
classes, customer use over seasons rather than only annual use, and a range of
natural gas price forecasts using more than one credible source.
Further,
the company should summarize the cost-effectiveness of its conservation, or
demand-side management (DSM) programs, including those not selected for
implementation.
“The
commission’s philosophy regarding DSM has been clearly stated in its orders –
it strongly supports the development and implementation of DSM measures and
wants natural gas utilities in Idaho to investigate and implement
cost-effective measures that improve energy efficiency,” the commission said.
Many
of the company’s customers are served directly off the Williams Northwest Gas
Pipeline that comes into southeastern Idaho from Wyoming and generally follows
the Snake River in southern Idaho. However, Intermountain owns several laterals
that come off the main Williams pipeline. The three largest are the Idaho
Falls, Sun Valley and Canyon County laterals.
The
Idaho Falls Lateral , which serves many cities between Pocatello north to St.
Anthony, will reach a peak day delivery deficit during 2007 and will increase
thereafter if adjustments aren’t made such as “looping,” which is increasing
capacity by adding a parallel pipe alongside existing pipelines. The company
also plans to ask its industrial customers that have the potential to cut their
peak consumption by switching to fuel oil to do so during extreme cold
temperatures. The Idaho Falls lateral serves 15 percent of the company’s
customers and represents 18 percent of the company’s total winter delivery.
The
company anticipates peak day delivery deficits by 2009 in the Sun Valley
Lateral where there are 4 percent of the customers and 4 percent of winter
send-out. Unlike the Idaho Falls Lateral, the industrial load, mainly related
to tourism, does not permit switching to alternative fuels. Therefore, the
company believes that future upgrades will be needed to the existing pipeline
system.
The
Canyon County Lateral, which represents 14 percent of the company’s customers
and 13 percent of winter sendout, will experience delivery deficits beginning
in 2007 under current conditions. The industrial base there also does not
permit fuel switching. Intermountain Gas is exploring optional means of
enhancing distribution capability in that region.
The
commission commended Intermountain Gas for revising its IRP to refine its plans
to mitigate or eliminate projected capital improvements needed to meet
projected distribution deficits. The commission said it welcomed the fact that
Intermountain “had conducted some early research that shows that new technology
may allow the company to delay certain expensive pipeline upgrades in areas of
the system.”
A full copy of the commission’s order and other documents related to this case is available on the commission Web site at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on “File Room,” then “Gas Cases,” and scroll down to INT-G-06-03.