State Approves Construction of Idaho Power Plant

Idaho Power Co. has been granted a certificate to build the 330-megawatt Langley Gulch Power Plant, planned for 137 acres of undeveloped rangeland near Exit 9 of Interstate 84 in Payette County.

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission announced Tuesday that it approved the natural-gas plant because the electric utility risks falling short of customer demand for energy in the next four years.

Some interveners, in-cluding customer groups, the Idaho Conservation League and the Com-munity Action Partnership Association of Idaho, had argued the project could be delayed.

The PUC granted the utility "regulatory assurance" that it will be able to recover nearly $400 million invested in the plant through customer rates - slightly less than requested, but a move that will make it easier for the company to borrow capital at favorable rates. But the regulators turned down another request for Idaho Power to start including construction costs in rates as the work moves forward, noting they may revisit the idea later.

Some interveners had argued the bid process used for the plant was flawed and should be more transparent, and a power-producers coalition has asked the PUC to examine the current bid process in a separate case. The commission stated in the Langley order that it appeared the plant's bids were still competitive, but that the bidding process should still be reviewed.