By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Friday was the third day of a Utah Public Service
Commission hearing on the PacifiCorp's application to build
a power generation plant near Mona that would be ready by
the summer of 2005.
PacifiCorp operates as Utah Power in Utah and Idaho
and officials of the company have claimed the plant is
needed to help meet escalating power needs.
Called the Currant Creek project, the mega-generation
plant has come up against a hard wall in dealing with losing
bidders for the project.
Those bidders have charged the utility's "self-build"
decision was made before the company completed a review of
more than 100 power-supply bids. and that the company had a
conflict of interest as both a bidder and bid selector.
"The question can be asked, 'Was the RFP (request for
proposals) process perfect?' I'll tell you right now it
wasn't," testified Doug Larson, PacifiCorp vice president of
regulatory affairs.
The gas-fired Currant Creek plant will cost $345
million to construct as planned with the bid used which was
accepted. Officials testified they think that figure is $320
million less expensive, over the life of the plant, than the
next-best bid.
A PacifiCorp official testified Friday that the
bidding process to get proposals on future power supplies,
while imperfect, was nonetheless fair.
In response to a question from Commissioner Constance
White, Larson said in the future bid processes could have
better communication elements.
In a series of questions from Steve Mecham, an
attorney for losing bidder Spring Canyon Energy LLC, Larson
acknowledged that he had no detailed involvement in the
bidding process but said that those interested in bidding
were made aware of the utility's future power needs, the
bidding process, and the company's plans to hire a
third-party consultant to provide fairness for the
process.
The company-hired consultant, Navigant Consulting
Inc., determined PacifiCorp's "self-build" choice was best,
although other bidders do not agree.
"PacifiCorp treated each bid and bidder consistently
and fairly," Navigant principal Howard Friedman said Friday.
PacifiCorp so far has paid Navigant $450,000 for its
work.
The hearings will continue Wednesday.
At commission chairman Ric Campbell's suggestion,
PacifiCorp will provide more details about the economic
impacts to customers in 2005 and 2006 if the Currant Creek
project is not built.
Rand Thurgood, PacifiCorp's managing director of
resource development, testified that in order to meet 2005
summer load demand, Currant Creek was the only way to go
forward.
He said the utility has spent about $10 million on the
project so far and calling it off would cost $36 million
more by month's end, primary to terminate orders for
large-scale equipment.
The figure would reach $126 million in loss if the
plant were a no-go four months from now.
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