Rocky mountain power wyoming11/14/2022 26 filed with the Wyoming Public Service Commission an application “for situs and non-situs” certificates of public convenience and necessity (CPCNs) to build the Gateway South 500-kV transmission line and the Gateway West Segment D.1 230-kV transmission line, as well as accompanying facilities. Fights over PURPA are not confined to PacifiCorp territory Duke Energy is currently engaged in a debate in North Carolina over slashing contract remuneration rates and establishing itself as a potential bidder for contracts.Rocky Mountain Power on Aug. PURPA was initially signed into federal law in 1978 to ensure utilities were sourcing power from a diversity of companies and resources and subsequently succeeded in creating opportunities for more renewable energy down the road. But Utah utility regulators were more skeptical and voted last year to reject Rocky Mountain Power's bid to shorten PURPA contracts from 20 years to three years, instead trimming it to 15 years. Idaho regulators trimmed PURPA contract lengths from the standard 20-25 years to two years in 2015. However, RMP is involved in debating PURPA contract lengths in Wyoming, but has moved over working with stakeholders to come up with a mutual solution.ĭebates over PURPA contracts are not new in the West, and PacifiCorp has been a key player in nearly all of them. But these QFs differ from their larger counterparts in that the agreement to review and adjust the avoided cost rate is baked into the contract. RMP claims the fixed-price contracts are effectively renewable subsidies that will ultimately be paid by ratepayers in the long term. In addition to the forward price curve, RMP said it used the wind and solar integration costs, the capacity contributions for both wind and solar resources, and the resource sufficiency and deficiency periods that relate to capacity contribution costs, to develop the avoided cost rate. The reduced costs are "primarily due to the MaOfficial Forward Price Curve that includes lower wholesale power and natural gas market prices," the utility said. The proposed avoided cost prices are $25.64/MWh, $29.65/MWh, and $31.51/MWh on a 20-year (2018-2037) nominal levelized basis for a wind, fixed solar, and tracking solar facilities, respectively. So far, the collaboration is still ongoing. PacifiCorp, which is owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, proposed shorter contract lengths in 2016 for PURPA QFs in Wyoming, but the Public Utilities Commission told the utility to collaborate with stakeholders and come up with a solution.RMP proposed to decrease the 20-year levelized avoided cost from $52.15/MWh to $31.48/MWh. The proposed cuts are already built into the contracts of certain small QFs, an RMP spokesman told Utility Dive in an email, and are separate from the wider debate over PURPA contracts occurring in Western States.PacifiCorp subsidiary Rocky Mountain Power has asked Wyoming regulators to approve cuts to the rate the utility pays small qualifying facilities under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act ( PURPA), arguing that wholesale power prices are low and natural gas is cheap.The utility did request to cut QF rates, but only for certain small facilities with contracts that baked in the agreement to evaluate the avoided cost rate during certain periods. Correction: A previous version of this post incorrectly said that Rocky Mountain Power requested to slash PURPA rates for Wyoming QFs.
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