Energy contracts put on hold

BOISE (AP) - The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has denied a request by Idaho Power Co. to suspend a requirement that the utility buy power from alternative energy producers.

But the commission last week also eliminated standards that determine how much alternative energy developers are paid by the utility, a practice Idaho Power says increases costs for customers.

Officials said that the new system will be in place until the commission can resolve the current rate-setting case, scheduled for this fall.

"It's a back-handed win," said Peter Richardson, a Boise attorney who represents alternative energy developers. Those range from stand-alone wind and solar projects to energy projects involving J.R. Simplot Co. and Clearwater Paper.

Idaho Power said pausing new power contracts until the fall will avoid locking in contracts that could have inflated prices for two decades.

"The likelihood of risk or harm to the customers is substantial, great and long-term," said Donovan Walker, an attorney for Idaho Power. "That in and of itself justifies a temporary stay while the commission determines what the proper lawful rate is."

The federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA, requires utilities in specific circumstances to buy alternative energy. The act is intended to increase production of renewable energy.

But last summer, utilities including Rocky Mountain Power, a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, and Idaho Power Co., the state's biggest utility, complained to state regulators that developers were gaming the system - splitting up what otherwise would be big wind developments into smaller projects that were eligible for contracts mandated under PURPA.