The following two stories have to do with Idaho Power's renewable energy certficates: (1) An explanation of what they are and how they work, and (2) March 16th's argument before the Idaho PUC that IPC should use these green tags to benefit customers rather than retain them as proof that they have a "green" portfolio.
The first article:
'Green tag' sale: Idaho Power ahead of federal rules
POSTED: Monday, February 23, 2009 by Zach Hagadone
http://www.idahobusiness.net/archive.htm/2009/02/23/Green-tag-sale-Idaho-Power-ahead-of-federal-rules
Idaho Power sees the handwriting on the wall regarding renewable energy. With President Barack Obama’s pledge to make 10 percent of the country’s power come from green sources by 2012, the Gem State’s largest utility is banking its renewable energy certificates, or “green tags,” to prove to regulators that it buys clean power.
Awarded for each megawatt hour of energy produced from a renewable source like wind, solar or geothermal, green tags are not only proof that a utility, homeowner or company purchases clean energy, but can be used as commodities for sale on a special market.
By opting to hold rather than sell its green tags, Idaho Power hopes to count that energy toward any potential federal renewable mandate. But some, including the group Industrial Customers of Idaho Power, think that because Idaho Power isn’t currently held to any state or federal renewable standards the tags should be sold and the revenues passed on to customers in the form of rate relief.
“The green tags have value on the open market, and they have no value to Idaho Power because they’re under no obligation to meet a renewable portfolio standard,” said attorney Peter Richardson, of Richardson & O’Leary, who represents ICIP. Idaho Power’s green tags, which it gets from buying power from the Elkhorn wind farm in Oregon and the Raft River geothermal project in western Idaho, are estimated to be worth about $2 million on the renewable energy market, which currently values each tag at about $5. But if they’re sold, Idaho Power can’t count them toward any standards.
. . . In a release from the (Idaho Public Utilities) commission, it said that Idaho Power applied $16 million in proceeds from sulfur credits to it PCA in 2008 and $70 million in 2007, reducing the surcharge paid by customers. Another alternative would be for Idaho Power to sell its green tags until they are needed, placing revenues in a dedicated account for future renewable power purchases. “That way, the purchase of renewable energy could actually cause more renewables to be acquired than otherwise might be,” commission staff wrote.
. . . ICIP . . . has filed a petition with the utilities commission to reconsider its decision allowing Idaho Power to hold onto the tags.“Holding onto these in anticipation of a federal standard isn’t an option,” Richardson said. “[I]t’s not a very good insurance policy and it’s an expensive one. They’re just talking about $2 million this year, and the market is actually heating up. … “Our position’s not a wild position; it’s not radical in any sense. It’s simply saying this is a ratepayer-funded asset… and as a result the ratepayers should get the benefit of it.”
The second article:
From Monday's KTVB News Channel:
http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/ktvbn-mar1609-energy_credits.4005e183.html
Regulators to rethink Idaho Power green tag sale
Associated Press
BOISE -- State utility regulators say they will reconsider an order allowing Idaho Power Co., to hold on to its renewable energy credits.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission announced the decision Monday after some of the utility's biggest industrial customers filed objections.
Those customers say Idaho Power should sell the so-called green tags and use the proceeds to benefit customers.
The commission ruled in January that Idaho Power could hold on to the credits, valued late last year at $1.9 million.
Idaho Power is awarded the credits annually for the renewable power generated at its geothermal power plant in southern Idaho and its wind farm in eastern Oregon.
The utility sought to hold on to the credits to help offset future state or federal mandates requiring utilities to expand renewable energy portfolios.
