The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has accepted a five-year procurement plan for Intermountain Gas Co. that anticipates load growth averaging 4% annually over the period among its current assortment of 242,000 retail customers.

The natural gas utility experienced 5% growth in the first quarter of fiscal 2004, and since fiscal 2003, the company has added 350 miles of new pipeline to its 9,500 miles of transmission, distribution and service lines.

“The company plans to use a number of options to increase the amount of gas delivered, the capacity on its pipelines and its storage capabilities,” said an Idaho PUC spokesperson. “Without an increase in capacity, the company says it will fall short of meeting its delivery needs during peak use by about winter of 2007.”

Intermountain is required by the PUC staff to file an enhanced risk management policy by Dec. 20 to guide its proposed gas supply purchase strategies.

The gas-buying plan addresses both supply and demand-side management issues, the PUC spokesperson said. Intermountain conducted two public workshops in Boise and Pocatello before finalizing the plan. Required every two years, the plan is used by regulators and the company as a baseline against which the utility’s performance ordinarily will be measured.

©Copyright 2004 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.