The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (PUC) has issued four orders declining reconsideration of its June 8 orders that said contracts for 14 wind projects were not completed in time to be eligible for the commission's published rate.
Nine of the projects had proposed sales agreements with Idaho Power Co. and five with PacifiCorp, which does business in eastern Idaho as Rocky Mountain Power.
The PUC's primary reason in declining to reconsider the projects is that the contracts were for more than 100 kW and became effective on or after the Dec. 14, 2010, the date after which wind and solar projects generating 100 kW or less could qualify for the commission's published rates.
The PUC lowered the eligibility cap for wind and solar projects from 10 MW to 100 kW in response to a complaint filed last November by Idaho's three largest electric utilities that alleged large wind projects were being broken down or ‘disaggregated’ into smaller 10 MW projects in order to qualify for the typically more attractive published rates rather than having to negotiate a rate with the utilities.
The result, the utilities alleged, was a rapid increase in the number of wind applications forcing the utilities to buy power they did not need at rates that were not reasonable for customers.
The wind project developers petitioned for reconsideration, most of which alleged that federal the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act law entitles developers to rates that are in effect on the date that a qualified developer commits to sell its output to an electric utility.
In response, the PUC stated that federal law allows states the flexibility to determine the date at which a legally enforceable obligation is incurred. The commission has determined that a legally enforceable obligation is incurred when both parties sign the power purchase agreements.
