IOWA INDUSTRIAL ENERGY GROUP

Transcription

1 IOWA INDUSTRIAL ENERGY GROUP MARCH 2016 IIEG 2016 SPRING CONFERENCE April 12, 2016 The IIEG Spring Conference focuses on energy and the election year. The speakers will provide us with discussion regarding their viewpoints about how the presidential election will impact energy issues and some of the things industry is considering in the upcoming years. Among the speakers are the chairman of the Iowa Republican Party, Jeff Kaufmann, Greg Bertlesen from the National Association of Manufacturers, John Davis from MidAmerican Energy, Bob Bartlett from Alliant Energy, and Holly Hart of the Iowa Green Party. Dr. Elwynn Taylor from Iowa State University will speak at lunch. During the Members Meeting preceding the conference, there will be an election for the offices of President and Secretary/ Treasurer. Paula Dierenfeld will be our guest at the meeting to introduce the Iowa Business Energy Coalition (IBEC) to our membership. Your registration form for the conference is attached. IN THE STATE There have been several energy decisions and events of interest to us over the last few months. Note that many IUB hearings can be streamed online from the Board s website. Dakota Access, LLC: The case at the Iowa Utilities Board (Board that has probably gotten the most attention over the past few years is the Dakota Access pipeline case. Dakota Access had petitioned for permission to construct approximately 346 miles of 30-inch diameter crude oil pipeline through Iowa as part of a 1,168 mile project to carry oil from the Bakken area near Stanley, North Dakota, to an oil transfer station, or hub, near Patoka, Illinois. On March 10, 1

2 2016, the Board issued its unanimous decision granting Dakota Access s petition for a hazardous liquid pipeline permit. In its lengthy order, the Board set out several conditions which Dakota Access must meet before the certificate is issued including filing a revised agricultural impact mitigation plan, obtaining an insurance policy of at least $25,000,000, guarantees for remediation of damages from a leak or a spill, and other requirements. The Order granted Dakota Access the right of eminent domain and directed Dakota Access to continue to offer to purchase voluntary easements. It is expected that the Sierra Club and some individual landowners will appeal this decision. Arti LLC and Pinnacle Engineering LLC v. MidAmerican: Arti LLC (Arti) filed two complaints with the Iowa Utilities Board after the decision in MidAmerican Energy Company s rate case Docket No The complaint in Docket No. FCU alleged that the PI (phase-in) and E (equalization) factors charged to Arti are not just and reasonable and that Arti should be issued one bill for electric service at its facility instead of two bills as currently issued by MidAmerican. The complaint in Docket No. FCU filed by Arti and Pinnacle Engineering, LLC (Pinnacle), alleged that the first year of the equalization period should be a full 12 months rather than the period from July 31, 2014, to December 31, The Board issued its decision in both cases on March 7, As to the first complaint, the Board found Arti s situation to be unique and ordered appropriate factors for Arti. However, the Board also found that Arti and Pinnacle do not qualify for a single billing unless its buildings are connected with an electric distribution system. In the second complaint, the Board rejected the contention that the equalization period was incorrectly shortened and found that it had reviewed and approved compliance tariffs to be effective July 31, 2014 which implemented year one of the equalization period over five months. These decisions could also be appealed. 2

3 Eagle Point Solar v. Interstate Power and Light Company - Net Metering: Eagle Point Solar, LLC has filed a formal complaint asking the Board to require Interstate Power and Light Company to file a revised alternate energy production (AEP) rate schedule that would allow AEP customers using the Large General Service (LGS) rate schedule to participate in net metering. Eagle Point also asked the Board to require IPL to eliminate the requirement for existing LGS customers to show 12 consecutive months of usage under 20,000 kwh per month in order to qualify for a different rate schedule, instead allowing this election to be made with only one month of usage under 20,000 kwh. Eagle Point alleged that IPL was not making net metering available in situations involving third-party purchases power agreements. A hearing is scheduled in this case on May 26, Black Hills/Iowa Gas Utility Company LLC: Black Hills has filed a petition with the Iowa Utilities Board asking for approval of its participation in a cost of service gas program and for allowance of cost recovery and other revisions to its tariff. Two days of hearings on Black Hills s proposals and cost recovery are scheduled for June 6-7, Iowa Energy Plan: Several IIEG members are participating in working groups to develop an Iowa energy plan directed by the Iowa Department of Economic Development and the Iowa Department of Transportation. Meetings are continuing through the early spring and summer with the goal of adopting a plan in the fall. Iowa Legislature: The second funnel deadline pared down the list of bills for the Iowa legislature s consideration. Many proposals were pronounced dead. Among the bills that remain alive are the tax coupling/consumables tax deal Senate Study Bill 3171 and renewable chemical manufacturing tax credits Senate File 2285 and House File NATIONAL AND REGIONAL ISSUES EPA Clean Power Plan Rules: It is likely that you are aware that in early February the United States Supreme Court stayed (or suspended) the EPA s Clean Power Plan rules. The stay means that states have no obligation to comply with the rules until the Supreme Court has ruled that the rules are lawful. The stay is in effect until the Supreme Court issues a final ruling. No one is sure when that will be. It is likely that the EPA will have to extend deadlines by the amount of time the stay remains in place. States are taking different approaches. 3

4 The following is a chart prepared by the Industrial Energy Consumers of America: States Moving Forward Despite Stay on CPP (19) California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Idaho Illinois Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Minnesota New Hampshire New York Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island Virginia Washington Wyoming States Stopping Work on Planning Due to Stay on CPP (19) Alabama Arkansas Georgia Indiana Kansas Kentucky Michigan Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Jersey North Carolina North Dakota Oklahoma South Dakota Texas Utah West Virginia Wisconsin States Undecided on CPP Planning (9) Arizona Florida Iowa Missouri Nevada New Mexico Ohio South Carolina Tennessee States Exempt from the CPP Rule (3) Alaska Hawaii Vermont UPCOMING ENERGY SEMINARS/WORKSHOPS Iowa Energy Center, Solar Powering Iowa 2016, March 23-24, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Industrial Energy Technology Conference, May 24-27, 2016, Loews Hotel, New Orleans, The IETC is hosted by the Energy Systems Laboratory at Texas A&M University and the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. It features topics important to industrial energy managers, utility experts, government program managers, vendors and others. Iowa Energy 2016 Summit, October 25-26, 2016, Prairie Meadows Conference and Event Center, Altoona, Iowa. Find Training and Informational Videos through the Iowa Energy Center at 4

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