Oregon regulators decided PacifiCorp's generation resource bidding effort was not adequate to show the 1,311 MW of wind projects the company selected are the lowest-cost and lowest-risk choices for utility customers.
The Public Utility Commission voted 2-1 on May 22 to not "acknowledge" the Berkshire Hathaway Energy subsidiary's pick of wind resources, though the decision does not prevent the company from proceeding with the contracts.
Instead, the PUC's decision expresses the commission's intent to scrutinize the projects in a future rate proceeding to determine if the utility should fully recover its costs. The commission indicated that should PacifiCorp carry out the contracts, it will compare those projects in a future rate case to other renewable resource alternatives that PacifiCorp might have selected instead. PacifiCorp would own 85% of the project capacity it selected.
Commissioner Megan Decker noted that because the bidding was rushed and PacifiCorp made adjustments late in the process to accommodate a Wyoming transmission line, only four projects met PacifiCorp's specifications.
"The narrow short list left little ability to evaluate cost and risk trade-offs that we and the [request for proposal]'s independent evaluator considered important to Oregon customers," Decker said.
PacifiCorp's final list included three eastern Wyoming wind projects totaling 1,150 MW that will require completion of a new transmission line by the end of 2020. The remaining 161 MW of wind capacity is a project that can use existing transmission infrastructure.
The company is under a deadline to get the projects built because of a pending expiration of federal production tax credits. The PUC conditionally approved PacifiCorp's request for proposals before completing its analysis of the company's 2017 integrated resource plan, which the commission said proved problematic for the two commissioners who did not see the results of the request for proposals as adequate.
However, commission Chair Lisa Hardie, who cast the dissenting vote, said, "In my view, PacifiCorp's [request for proposals] process appropriately followed our guidelines and tracked our [integrated resource plan] acknowledgment."
This was Hardie's final PUC meeting. Oregon Gov. Kate Brown has appointed Decker to replace her as chair and nominated Letha Tawney to serve out the rest of Hardie's term. The PUC is awaiting Senate confirmation on her appointment, commission spokeswoman Kandi Young said.
Wyoming approved the wind and transmission projects in April. Utah set PacifiCorp's plans for hearing after finding in March that its resource plan, including plans to add 2,000 MW of wind, met its planning standards. (Oregon PUC Docket No. UM 1845)
