Oregon

Portland, OR-based NW Natural has filed a $43.7 million general rate increase request with Oregon’s Public Utility Commission (PUC), the first such filing in nearly a decade. If approved, the rate change would mean an increase of about 6%, or an average of $5 monthly, for residential customers and $13 monthly for business customers.

Officials with the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) project along Oregon’s south-central coast said they will seek to make the LNG facility and its 1.2 Bcf/d connecting transmission pipeline a dual export-import project, which will mean the pipeline flow will be reversible.

Idaho Power Co. has filed an integrated resource plan (IRP) with Idaho and Oregon regulators calling for a near-doubling of its natural gas-fired generation with the completion next year of a third plant. The utility’s 300 MW combined-cycle gas-fired Langley Gulch generation plant is set to open in June 2012. The plant was identified as needed in Idaho Power’s 2009 IRP. Two existing gas-fired plants provide 345 MW of nameplate capacity collectively. Part of the new plant’s development includes construction of a connecting gas transmission pipeline and a 230-kV electric transmission line and substation. Idaho Power said in addition to boosting its power supply portfolio, Langley Gulch is expected to help the utility integrate ever-larger amounts of wind-powered generation into its system. The gas-fired generation is expected to be increased and decreased quickly in response to the intermittent wind supplies.

Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber signed a bill (SB 967) that repealed a controversial law (SB 408) passed six years ago requiring annual state regulatory adjustments to align retail utility rates with the actual amounts of taxes paid by the state’s four major investor-owned utilities. NW Natural, the gas-only utility distribution company based in Portland, said it has had a surcharge in place every year that the tax true-up law has been in existence. As a result of the new law being effective immediately, NW Natural said it will be denied recovery of its surcharge for the 2010 tax year. The gas utility said it is now required to record a one-time pre-tax charge to earnings in the second quarter this year of approximately $7.4 million ($4.4 million, or 17 cents/share, after tax) related to amounts earned from the surcharge last year. The original law grew out of a concern that utilities were collecting more in taxes as part of customer rates than they were paying out to governments (see Daily GPI, April 15, 2008).

Following similar actions by their colleagues in Oregon and Washington state, Idaho regulators said Tuesday they have lowered Spokane, WA-based Avista Utilities’ retail natural gas utility rates in the state by 22%, or more than the utility had requested earlier this fall. The lower rates became effective last Sunday for Avista’s 70,000 gas customers in northern Idaho (see Daily GPI, Oct. 1).

British Columbia (BC) is joining the states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon and California to collaborate on energy and climate issues that affect the entire Pacific Coast region under an agreement announced at the annual meeting of the Western Governors’ Association.

The governors Washington, Oregon and California again wrote to President Bush Monday, opposing any efforts in the federal government to weaken offshore oil/gas drilling bans. Early last month, Govs. Christine Gregoire (WA), Theodore Kulongoski (OR) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (CA) announced a partnership they said was forged to protect the Pacific Coast.

Avista Corp.’s natural gas utilities in Washington, Oregon and Idaho recently submitted a 2006 integrated resource plan to state regulators that touts “decoupling” as a means to spur efficiency measures while ensuring cost recovery.

Tuscarora Gas Transmission said it most likely will have to cancel the second phase of its proposed pipeline expansion because Duke Energy has put a proposed power plant indefinitely on hold. Phase II of the expansion called for the construction of a 3.7-mile lateral to transport an additional 40,000 Dth/d of gas to Duke Energy North America LLC’s proposed 540 MW Washoe generating plant near Reno, NV.