Iowa Admin. Code r. 199-41.3

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 8, October 30, 2024

Rule 199-41.3 - Application for predetermined ratemaking principles; contents

Each person or group of persons proposing to construct, repower, or lease a facility and desiring predetermination of ratemaking principles for costing that facility shall file an application with the commission. An application may be for one facility or a combination of facilities necessary to meet the current and future resource needs of the utility. An application for ratemaking principles must demonstrate that the utility has considered other sources for long-term electric supply and that the facility or lease is reasonable when compared to other feasible alternative sources of supply. At a minimum, an application shall substantially comply with the following informational requirements to the extent such information is reasonably available. Any omission of required information on the basis that it is not reasonably available shall be adequately justified by the applicant. The commission will consider such omissions on a case-by-case basis and may require the applicant to provide additional information.

(1)General information. An application shall include the following general information:

a. The purpose of the proposed facility.

b. A complete description of the current and proposed rights of ownership in the proposed facility and current or planned purchased power contracts with respect to the proposed facility.

c. For a baseload electric power generating facility with a nameplate generating capacity equal to or greater than 300 megawatts, a combined-cycle electric power generating facility, or repowering of a facility, a general site description including a legal description of the site; a map showing the coordinates of the site and its location with respect to state, county, and other political subdivisions; and prominent features such as cities, lakes, rivers, and parks within the site impact area. For an alternative energy production facility, to the extent feasible, a general site description including a description of the site location or locations; map(s) showing the coordinates of the site(s) and location(s) with respect to state, county, and other political subdivisions; and prominent features such as cities, lakes, rivers and parks within the site impact area(s).

d. A general description of the proposed facility, including a description of the expected principal characteristics of the facility such as the capacity of the proposed facility in megawatts expressed by the contract maximum generator megawatt rating, the expected net facility addition to the system in megawatts by net to the busbar rating, and the portion of the design capacity, in megawatts, of the proposed facility which is proposed to be available for use by each participant; the expected number and type of generating units; the primary fuel source for each such unit; the total hours of operation anticipated seasonally and annually and output during these hours; the expected capacity factors; a description of the expected general arrangement of major structures and equipment to provide the commission with an understanding of the general layout of the facility; and a projected schedule for the facility's construction and utilization, including the projected date when a significant site alteration is proposed to begin and the projected inservice date of the facility. For this purpose, a group of several similar generating units operated together at the same location such that segregated records of energy output are not available shall be considered a single unit.

e. A general description of the raw materials, including fuel, used by the proposed facility in producing electricity and of the wastes created in the production process. In addition to describing the wastes created in the production process, the applicant shall determine annual expected emissions from the facility and provide a plan for acquiring allowances sufficient to offset these emissions. The applicant shall describe all transportation facilities currently operating that will be available to serve the proposed facility, and any additional transportation facilities needed to deliver raw materials and to remove wastes.

f. An identification, general description, and chronology of all material financial and other contractual commitments undertaken or planned to be undertaken with respect to the proposed facility.

g. A general map and description of the primary transportation corridors and the approximate routing of the rights-of-way in the vicinity of the settled areas, parks, recreational areas, and scenic areas.

h. A general analysis of the existing transmission system's capability to reliably support the proposed additional generation interconnection to the system. In the alternative, the applicant may provide testimony that (1) it will follow the interconnection requirements of the local and regional transmission authorities; (2) it is committed to meeting the pertinent transmission requirements with respect to the proposed facility; and (3) the applicant assures the commission that the interconnection of the proposed facility will not degrade the adequacy, reliability, or operating flexibility of the transmission system from a regional or local perspective.

i. Identification of the general contractor for the proposed facility and the method by which the general contractor was selected. If a general contractor has not yet been selected, the utility shall identify the process by which the general contractor will be selected and the anticipated timeline for selecting a general contractor.

j. Identification of the plant operator for the proposed facility and the method by which the plant operator was selected. If a plant operator has not yet been selected, the utility shall identify the process by which a plant operator will be selected and the anticipated timeline for selecting a plant operator.

(2)Economic evaluation of proposed facility. An application shall include an overall economic evaluation of the proposed facility using conventional capital evaluation techniques and the proposed ratemaking principles. Material assumptions used in the analysis shall be disclosed. At a minimum, the evaluation shall include:

a. Net present value calculations. An application shall include projected annual and total net present value calculations of projected revenue requirements and capital costs over the expected life of the proposed facility. If a traditional revenue requirement analysis does not account for revenue-sharing arrangements, riders, or other mechanisms that impact Iowa retail customer bills, the utility shall also provide projected annual and total net present value calculations that show the impact on amounts that will actually be paid by Iowa retail customers accounting for such mechanisms. To the extent the utility has projected revenue deficiencies within the period of analysis, the utility shall also provide the estimated effect the proposed facility will have on these calculations. In making these calculations, the utility shall detail the following cost assumptions:

(1) Installed cost. The utility shall provide an itemized statement of the estimated total costs to construct the proposed facility. Such estimated costs shall include, but not be limited to, the estimated cost of all electric power generating units; all electric supply lines within the proposed facility site boundary; all electric supply lines beyond the proposed facility site boundary with a voltage of 69 kilovolts or higher used for transmitting power from the proposed facility to the point of junction with the distribution system or with the interconnected primary transmission system; all appurtenant or miscellaneous structures used and useful in connection with the proposed facility or any part thereof; all rights-of-way, lands, or interest in lands the use and occupancy of which are necessary or appropriate in the maintenance or operation of said facility; engineering and development; sales taxes; and AFUDC (if applicable). The estimated costs of all electric power generating units shall include all estimated costs of transmission and gas interconnection (if applicable). Estimated facility costs shall be expressed in absolute terms and in dollars per kilowatt. The absolute and per-kilowatt estimated construction costs shall be adjusted by the expected rate of inflation from the time the estimated construction costs are calculated to the time the proposed facility is scheduled for operation.

(2) Fixed expenses. For each year of the proposed facility's expected life from the time of application to the end of the proposed facility's expected life, the utility shall file projected expense factors for fixed operation and maintenance costs; property, income, and other taxes; and straight-line and tax depreciation rights.

(3) Variable expenses. For each year of the proposed facility's expected life from the scheduled time of operation to the end of the proposed facility's expected life, the utility shall file expected variable operation and maintenance costs including the cost of fuel and emission allowances. These expected costs shall be reported in absolute terms and on a kWh basis assuming expected annual capacity factors for the proposed facility.

b. Cost of capital. The utility shall provide its projected costs of capital for the proposed facility for each year of the proposed facility's expected life from the time of application to the end of the proposed facility's expected life. Material assumptions used in the projections shall be provided, including but not limited to capital structure, cost of preferred stock, cost of debt, and cost of equity.

c. Cash flows. The utility shall provide the estimated maximum, minimum and expected cash inflows and outflows associated with the proposed facility in each year from the date of the application throughout the proposed facility's expected life.

(3)Risk mitigation factors. At a minimum, the following information regarding contractual risk mitigation factors shall be included in an application:

a. Construction risk mitigation factors. The utility shall provide a general description of the contractual standards that the general contractor, if not the utility, must comply with to mitigate construction risks, including but not limited to cost overruns, labor shortages, failure to meet deadlines, and the need for replacement power if operational deadlines are not met. If the facility will be leased by the utility, the utility shall identify the above factors for both the lessor and the general contractor constructing the facility. The general description shall include all remedies, financial and otherwise, available to the utility for noncompliance with the construction standards and schedules.

b. Operational risk mitigation factors. The utility shall provide a general description of the contractual standards that the general contractor or the plant operator, if not the utility, must comply with to mitigate operational risks of the facility, including but not limited to low-availability factor and higher-than-expected operation and maintenance costs. The general description shall include a list of all contractual inspections the general contractor must meet before the utility leases or takes ownership of the facility and all remedies, financial and otherwise, available to the utility for noncompliance with the operating standards. If the utility leases the facility from an affiliate, the lease shall contain specific performance standards that the affiliate must meet to avoid financial consequences.

(4)Noncost factors. The utility shall include in its application a comparison of the proposed facility with other feasible sources of supply related to the following noncost factors:

a. Economic impact to the state and community where the facility is proposed to be located, including job creation, taxes, and use of state resources.

b. Environmental impact to the state and community where the facility is proposed to be located.

c. Electric supply reliability and security in the state.

d. Fuel diversity and use of nontraditional supply sources such as alternate energy and conservation.

e. Efficiency and control technologies.

(5)Filing requirements for proposed ratemaking principles. Each ratemaking principle proposed shall be supported as described in this subrule. Proposed ratemaking principles not envisioned by these rules shall be supported by sufficient evidence to justify the use of such principles in costing the facility for regulated retail rate recovery.

a.Cost of equity. Proposals for establishing the cost of equity shall be supported with analyses which demonstrate the reasonableness of the proposed equity rate for the proposed facility. If sufficient information is available, the analyses shall include a comparison with similar facilities built in the region in recent years.

b.Depreciable life. Proposals for establishing the depreciable life of the facility shall be supported by commission precedent for the depreciable lives of similar facilities, the manufacturer's opinion of depreciable life, the applicant's general depreciation study or analysis, or an engineering study of the depreciable life of the type of facility proposed.

c.Jurisdictional allocations. Proposals for allocating the cost or output of the proposed facility among jurisdictions shall be supported by jurisdictional allocation studies or recent commission-ordered or -approved allocations for the applicant.

(6)Additional application requirements for leasing arrangements. The following additional information shall be filed when a utility is proposing an arrangement in which the utility leases a facility from an affiliate or an independent third party:

a. Identification of the method used in selecting the affiliate or independent third party to build the facility (competitive solicitation, sole source, etc.).

b. A copy of the lease agreement.

c. A detailed description of the lease agreement, including but not limited to the following:

(1) Commitment of capacity from the proposed facility to the utility under the lease agreement.

(2) Description of the final disposition of the leased facility at the end of the lease arrangement, including any options available to the utility and the terms of those options.

(3) Identification of the party responsible for operating, dispatching, and maintaining the facility.

(4) Identification of the party responsible for the cost of capital improvements, renewals and replacements, environmental compliance, taxes, and all other future costs associated with the facility.

(5) Identification of the party responsible for contracting capacity from the proposed facility.

(6) Identification of the party benefitting from revenues received through contracted capacity and opportunity sales.

d. If the lessor is an affiliate, a detailed description of the affiliate, including the affiliate's corporate structure and the utility's ownership stake in the affiliate, if any.

e. If the lessor is an affiliate, identification of utility assets transferred to the affiliate for use by the proposed facility and the cost at which those assets were transferred.

f. If the lessor is an affiliate, identification of any financial benefits and cost savings, including any tax advantages, accruing to the utility from leasing an affiliate-owned facility versus building a facility itself.

Iowa Admin. Code r. 199-41.3

Adopted by IAB October 7, 2020/Volume XLIII, Number 8, effective 11/11/2020

Editorial change: IAC Supplement 7/24/2024