ALJ/ANG/jt2/avs Date of Issuance 8/5/2011
Decision 11-07-036 July 28, 2011
BEFORE THE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In the Matter of the Application of The Nevada Hydro Company for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for the Talega-Escondido/Valley-Serrano 500 kV Interconnect Project. |
Application 10-07-001 (Filed July 6, 2010) |
DECISION REGARDING PHASE 1 ISSUES
1. Summary
In this application, the Nevada Hydro Company (Nevada Hydro) requests a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the Talega-Escondido/Valley-Serrano 500 kilovolt Interconnect Project. Pursuant to the Scoping Memo Ruling issued for Phase 1 of this proceeding, this decision addresses the following threshold issues: a) whether or not Nevada Hydro would become a public utility (as defined in Pub. Util. Code §§ 216(a) and 218(a)) upon issuance of a CPCN,1 b) whether Nevada Hydro must apply for a CPCN at this Commission, if the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) certificates the Lake Elsinore Advanced Pumped Storage (LEAPS) project, for which Nevada Hydro is a co-applicant at FERC with the Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District, and c) how to address responsibility for payment of compensation for intervenors found eligible for such compensation pursuant to §§ 1801 et seq., as well as reimbursement for the Division of Ratepayers Advocates' (DRA) expenses for hiring consultants, pursuant to § 631.
Consistent with precedent, we find that Nevada Hydro will become a public utility under Pub. Util. Code §§ 216 and 218, if a CPCN is issued in Phase 2 of this proceeding. We will address the issue of whether or not Nevada Hydro must seek a CPCN from this Commission, if LEAPS is certificated by FERC, and assuming Nevada Hydro owns and sells power that may be generated by LEAPS.
Because it is not certain that a CPCN will be issued for this project and because we must harmonize the various statutes that are incorporated in the Pub. Util. Code, it is reasonable for Nevada Hydro to guarantee payment for those intervenors who meet the requirements of §§ 1801 et seq. and for consultants hired by DRA, regardless of the outcome of this application. Therefore, the Commission directs Nevada Hydro to post a surety bond or performance bond in the amount of $550,000 to cover the anticipated costs of eligible intervenors who make a substantial contribution to this proceeding, consistent with the requirements of the Pub. Util. Code. As DRA requests, we order Nevada Hydro to enter into a reimbursable contract arrangement that would cover the costs of DRA's consultants, currently estimated at $450,000. We conclude that these are reasonable costs of doing business for an entity proposing to be certified as a public utility and proposing to build a project originally estimated to cost $353 million (in 2007 dollars), and now anticipated to cost $684 million.
1 All statutory references are to the Pub. Util. Code, unless otherwise noted.
