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Idaho Power Selects Langley Gulch Natural Gas-Fired Combined-Cycle Combustion Turbine Power Plant from Baseload Resource Request for Proposals (RFP)

Posted on: Monday, 9 March 2009, 13:33 CDT

BOISE, Idaho, March 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --Idaho Power today announced the selection of a new natural gas-fired combined-cycle combustion turbine (CCCT) generation facility, the Langley Gulch Power Plant, from the request for proposals (RFP) issued April 2008 for a baseload resource.

"Idaho Power's 2004 and 2006 Integrated Resource Plans both identified the need for additional baseload generation to reduce projected energy and capacity deficits and the resource need was reaffirmed in the 2008 IRP update," said Karl Bokenkamp, Idaho Power's general manager of Power Supply Operations and Planning and lead on the RFP selection team.

"We received a number of proposals in response to our RFP, and the evaluation process included both price and non-price criteria," added Bokenkamp. "The Langley Gulch proposal, an Idaho Power sponsored project, was selected for its favorable characteristics, including location, operating flexibility and lower cost. This project's operating flexibility will be a great addition to our portfolio and it will help us integrate intermittent renewable resources, such as wind. The selected Langley Gulch proposal was also the least expensive and it brings the best value to our customers."

"Langley Gulch Power Plant is a high-efficiency, state-of-the-art facility that integrates nicely with our existing hydroelectric, coal and peaking generation resources," said Idaho Power General Manager of Power Production, Vern Porter. "This facility will generate over 300 megawatts and utilize Best Available Control Technology to minimize emissions."

The proposed new Langley Gulch facility location is on a remote site south of Interstate 84 at exit 9 in Payette County. Project completion is expected by December 2012. Connecting a baseload resource at this location will improve electric service reliability for all Idaho Power customers.

The company filed for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) on March 6th. The filing will be available on the IPUC Web site. In addition to the CPCN filing, other public processes for county zoning and development, air permitting and use of public right-of-way, including project open houses for public involvement, will commence over the next several months. Included in the filing is a cost estimate for the resource of approximately $427 million that includes expected transmission costs to connect the facility to the grid.

"News of the facility is being shared with area residents and county and city leaders beginning today, Monday, March 9th," added Porter. "We will also be engaging involvement of local residents with personal meetings, information packets and an open house in early April."

"Siting this facility locally provides an economic stimulus to the area," said Porter. "Over 100 construction workers will be needed to build this plant with an additional 18 permanent jobs created to operate and maintain the facility. Additional benefits include the use of local services, materials and equipment suppliers as well as a significant tax base for Payette County."

"The Langley Gulch Power Plant is the outcome of a rigorous assessment process. Our project proposal evaluated technologies, constraints, opportunities and sites from Ontario, Oregon to Hammett, Idaho," said Porter. "Our diligence in pursuing the most appropriate, viable and cost-efficient resource made this the best choice for our customers."

Learn more at www.idahopower.com/langleygulch.

Background Information/Safe Harbor Statement

IDACORP, Inc. (NYSE: IDA), Boise, Idaho-based and formed in 1998, is a holding company comprised of Idaho Power Company, a regulated electric utility; IDACORP Financial, a holder of affordable housing projects and other real estate investments; and Ida-West Energy, an operator of small hydroelectric generation projects that satisfy the requirements of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978. IDACORP's origins lie with Idaho Power and operations beginning in 1916. Today, Idaho Power employs approximately 2,000 people to serve a 24,000 square-mile service area in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon. With 17 low-cost hydroelectric projects as the core of its generation portfolio, Idaho Power's 487,000 residential, business and agricultural customers pay some of the nation's lowest prices for electricity. To learn more about Idaho Power or IDACORP, visit www.idahopower.com or www.idacorpinc.com.

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements with respect to future earnings, ongoing operations, and financial conditions, are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of federal securities laws. Although IDACORP and Idaho Power believe that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, these statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in the statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements include: the effect of regulatory decisions by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, the Oregon Public Utility Commission and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission affecting our ability to recover costs and/or earn a reasonable rate of return including, but not limited to, the disallowance of costs that have been deferred; changes in and compliance with state and federal laws, policies and regulations including new interpretations by oversight bodies, which include the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission and the Oregon Public Utility Commission, of existing policies and regulations that affect the cost of compliance, investigations and audits, penalties and costs of remediation that may or may not be recoverable through rates; changes in tax laws or related regulations or new interpretations of applicable law by the Internal Revenue Service or other taxing jurisdiction; litigation and regulatory proceedings, including those resulting from the energy situation in the western United States, and penalties and settlements that influence business and profitability; changes in and compliance with laws, regulations, and policies including changes in law and compliance with environmental, natural resources, endangered species and safety laws, regulations and policies and the adoption of laws and regulations addressing greenhouse gas emissions, global climate change, and energy policies; global climate change and regional weather variations affecting customer demand and hydroelectric generation; over-appropriation of surface and groundwater in the Snake River Basin resulting in reduced generation at hydroelectric facilities; construction of power generation, transmission and distribution facilities, including an inability to obtain required governmental permits and approvals, rights-of-way and siting, and risks related to contracting, construction and start-up; operation of power generating facilities including performance below expected levels, breakdown or failure of equipment, availability of transmission and fuel supply; changes in operating expenses and capital expenditures, including costs and availability of materials, fuel and commodities; blackouts or other disruptions of Idaho Power Company's transmission system or the western interconnected transmission system; population growth rates and other demographic patterns; market prices and demand for energy, including structural market changes; increases in uncollectible customer receivables; fluctuations in sources and uses of cash; results of financing efforts, including the ability to obtain financing or refinance existing debt when necessary or on favorable terms, which can be affected by factors such as credit ratings, volatility in the financial markets and other economic conditions; actions by credit rating agencies, including changes in rating criteria and new interpretations of existing criteria; changes in interest rates or rates of inflation; performance of the stock market, interest rates, credit spreads and other financial market conditions, as well as changes in government regulations, which affect the amount and timing of required contributions to pension plans and the reported costs of providing pension and other postretirement benefits; increases in health care costs and the resulting effect on medical benefits paid for employees; increasing costs of insurance, changes in coverage terms and the ability to obtain insurance; homeland security, acts of war or terrorism; natural disasters and other natural risks, such as earthquake, flood, drought, lightning, wind and fire; adoption of or changes in critical accounting policies or estimates; and new accounting or Securities and Exchange Commission requirements, or new interpretation or application of existing requirements. Any such forward-looking statements should be considered in light of such factors and others noted in the companies' Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, and other reports on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor can it assess the impact of any such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement.

SOURCE Idaho Power

Source: PR Newswire

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