PSC

PUBLIC NOTICE

1. Pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Public Service Commission’s (Commission) Rules, notice is hereby given that a public hearing is scheduled regarding Rocky Mountain Power’s (RMP or the Company) application for a non-situs Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) to construct its Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line (Application). The public hearing is set to commence on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at 9:00 a.m., in the Commission’s hearing room located at 2515 Warren Avenue, Suite 300, in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

2. RMP is a division of PacifiCorp, an Oregon corporation, engaged in the business of supplying electric utility service to customers throughout its six-state service territory, including Wyoming. RMP is a public utility, subject to the Commission’s jurisdiction. (Wyo. Stat. §§ 37-l-101(a)(vi)(C) and 37-2-112).

3. On February 6, 2023, the Company filed an Application, together with supporting testimony and exhibits, requesting the Commission grant a non-situs CPCN to construct the Boardman-to-Hemingway transmission line (segment H of the Energy Gateway Project) (B2H).

4. On February 14, 2023, the Wyoming Industrial Energy Consumers (WIEC) submitted a Petition to Intervene and Request for Hearing, which the Commission then granted via Order issued on February 17, 2023.

5. On April 17, 2023, RMP and WIEC (the Parties) filed a Stipulation and Settlement Agreement (Agreement), resolving all outstanding issues raised in this proceeding. The Parties requested the Commission issue an Order approving the terms of the Agreement following a hearing during which testimony will be offered in support of its terms.

6. The Company’s proposed Boardman-to-Hemingway is an approximately 300-mile-long, 500-kV transmission line that will extend from a proposed switching station near Boardman, Oregon to the existing Hemingway Substation located in Owyhee County, Idaho. Approximately 274 miles of the transmission line is located in five Oregon counties: Malheur, Baker, Union, Umatilla, and Morrow Counties. A 24-mile segment of the Project will be in Owyhee County in Idaho. The project also consists of a newly constructed switching station near Boardman, Oregon, ten communication stations within the right-of-way of the transmission line, and construction of the Midline Series Capacitor substation.

7. The Company has partnered with Idaho Power Company (IPC) and the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) to develop the Project. IPC is the overall project manager, responsible for permitting, design, procurement, and construction. IPC will fund and own 45.45 percent and the Company will fund and own 54.55 percent.

8. The Company states the proposed project is necessary for the following reasons: 1) it increases the ability to move resources across and between both of the Company’s balancing authority areas and will allow the Company to export 818 megawatts (MW) of additional generation capacity from Wyoming, Utah, and Idaho generators to Oregon, Washington, and California customers; 2) it enables the Company to avoid higher cost transmission and generation investments to serve the system, including Wyoming, that would be required absent B2H; and 3) it reduces the cost of third-party transmission service included in the net power costs allocated to Wyoming retail customers. The Company states that construction of B2H is expected to produce total-system cost savings of $1.7 billion. The Company states that IPC must begin construction in July 2023 to have the project come into service by 2026.

9. The Company expects its share of the estimated total cost of the project to be between $800 and $900 million, which is estimated to increase Wyoming customer rates by an estimated 1.95 percent once the Company proposes to include the costs of the project in a future general rate case. The Company intends to finance the project through its normal internal and external sources of capital.

10. All interested persons are encouraged to attend the public hearing which will be conducted in accordance with the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, Wyoming Public Service Commission Rules. All interested persons may appear and be heard, in person, by video or telephone conference, or through counsel appearing in person or by video or telephone conference.

Attend Zoom Meeting and actively participate at:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82271019157

Or by dialing: 1 719 359 4580 Meeting ID: 822 7101 9157

11. If you wish to attend the hearing and you require reasonable accommodation for a disability, please contact the Commission at (307) 777-7427 (Voice or TTY) in Cheyenne during regular business hours or write them at 2515 Warren Avenue, Suite 300, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, to make arrangements. Communications impaired persons may also contact the Commission by accessing Wyoming Relay (TTY) by dialing 711. Please mention Docket No. 20000-631-EN-23 in all correspondence with the Commission.

Dated: April 19, 2023

Publish: April 27 and May 4, 2023