Public Forum For Proposed Revisions to IRP Regulations

1
Public Forum ForProposed Revisions to IRP
Regulations

• Presented by Western Area Power Administration
• September 6, 2007

2
Westerns IRP History

• Conservation and Renewable Energy contractually
  required for Westerns long term firm customers
  starting in 1981
• Integrated Resource Planning (IRP) requirement
  for customers proposed in Energy Planning and
  Management Program (EPAMP) in 1991
• Congress reinforced Westerns administrative IRP
  proposal in the Energy Policy Act (EPAct) of 1992
• Final EPAMP adopted in 1995
• Required customer IRP
• Allowed preparation of alternative plan for small
  customers
• IRP cooperatives allowed

3
Westerns Existing Regulations

• Adopted in March of 2000
• Feature customer choice and flexibility
• Reflect the transition of the electric utility
  industry
• Streamlined requirements
• Alternatives allowed in lieu of IRP
• Minimum Investment Report-complying with a
  defined level of investment in demand-side
  management/renewable energy, including a public
  benefits program
• Complying with mandated energy efficiency/renewabl
  e energy activities and related reporting
  requirements-limited to end use customers

4
Ability to Change Regulations

• Congress authorizes Western to make program
  changes
• Regulations track language from EPAct 1992
• At appropriate intervals, Western may initiate a
  public process to determine if regulations should
  be revised to reflects changes in technology,
  needs, or other developments

5
IRP Approval Proposal

• Given the large number of members of some
  member-based associations (MBAs) and the
  diversity of members interests, difficult to
  attain unanimous approval by all members
• MBA governing body serves the interests of each
  MBA member through the members representation on
  the board
• Western proposes to eliminate the requirement
  that each member of an MBA independently approve
  the IRP
• MBA board approval still required
• No other changes to the full public participation
  requirement are proposed

6
Regional IRP Proposal

• Joint planning, particularly for transmission, is
  increasingly important
• Western wants to clarify its willingness to let
  customers plan together
• Move beyond the resource planning decision
  block examples outlined in the original IRP rule
• Regional approach is appropriate even if
  participating customers are not members of an MBA
• Advance approval by Western required
• Regional IRPs must be approved by each
  participating customer

7
Public Access to IRPs Proposal

• Western has received feedback that IRPs prepared
  by Westerns customers are more difficult to
  obtain than investor-owned utility IRPs
• Consistent with the requirement for full public
  participation in IRP preparation, Western
  proposes to make customer IRPs more readily
  available to the public, such as by posting on
  the Internet
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) protection of
  sensitive information remains available

8
Questions and Comments