11. Assignment of Proceeding
Susan P. Kennedy is the Assigned Commissioner and Glen Walker is the assigned Administrative Law Judge in this proceeding.
1. PacifiCorp is a public utility based in Portland, Oregon, serving some 1.5 million retail customers in six states, including approximately 42,000 customers in northern California.
2. PacifiCorp owns 47.5% of the Skookumchuck Project in the State of Washington.
3. Washington LLC is a Washington limited liability company and a direct wholly owned subsidiary of TransAlta.
4. PacifiCorp proposes to sell and Washington LLC proposes to purchase PacifiCorp's interest in the Skookumchuck Project, including the Skookumchuck dam, hydroelectric facility and related assets.
5. The Skookumchuck Project is an earth-fill dam and hydroelectric generating plant located near Centralia, Washington, on property adjacent to the Centralia Power Plant.
6. The Skookumchuck dam is water storage and cooling facility for the Centralia Power Plant.
7. In 1991, a small generating plant with a capacity of 1 MW was constructed, and its average output of 3,000 MW hours is sold to Puget Sound Energy, Inc.
8. In the year 2000, the Commission approved the sale by PacifiCorp and other Owners of the Centralia Power Plant and the Centralia Coal Mine to other wholly owned subsidiaries of TransAlta.
9. The aggregate sale price of the current proposed transaction is approximately $7.5 million, and PacifiCorp's share of this amount is 47.5%.
10. The sale price is determined in such a manner that PacifiCorp will receive its net book value of the assets being transferred, with no appreciable gain or loss.
11. Section 362 of the Pub. Util. Code does not apply to the electric generating facilities here because the facilities are not located in California.
12. Section 363 of the Pub. Util. Code is inapplicable here because the Project is located in Washington, produces a de minimis amount of power, and has never been a factor in providing electric service for California.
13. Section 377.2 of the Pub. Util. Code exempts the electrical generation facilities here from the requirements of § 377.
14. CEQA Guideline § 15378 provides in part, that a "project" is the whole of an action, which has the potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect change in the environment.
15. CEQA Guideline § 15060(b)(3) provides that an activity is not subject to CEQA where it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment.
16. The current primary purpose of the Skookumchuck Project is to provide cooling water supply to the Centralia Steam Plant. Energy output from the Project is sold to Puget Sound Energy, Inc.
17. After the proposed transaction, the primary purpose of the Project will be to provide cooling water supply to the Centralia Steam Plant. Puget Sound Energy, Inc. will continue to receive the energy output of the Project.
18. After the proposed transaction Washington LLC will continue to operate under current fish and wildlife agreements and licenses and will assume the Owners' rights and obligations under the Project Safety program.
1. It can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the activity will have a significant effect on the environment. Therefore, the proposed transaction qualifies for an exemption pursuant to CEQA.
2. The transfer of the Skookumchuck Project to Washington LLC will benefit PacifiCorp's customers by lowering the company's cost of providing electrical service.
3. The record in this case is sufficient to support the findings sought by the application with respect to Washington LLP's qualification as an EWG.
4. The uncontested application for the proposed sale of PacifiCorp's interests in the Skookumchuck Project to Washington LLC should be approved.
IT IS ORDERED that:
1. The application of PacifiCorp and 2677588 Washington LLC for the sale of PacifiCorp's interest in the Skookumchuck dam, hydroelectric facilities and related assets (the Skookumchuck Project) is approved.
2. The Skookumchuck Project is deemed to be an "eligible facility" within the meaning of Section 32 of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 in that such designation (1) will benefit consumers, (2) is in the public interest, and (3) does not violate California state law.
3. Application 04-02-030 is closed.
This order is effective today.
Dated September 2, 2004, at San Francisco, Californi
MICHAEL R. PEEVEY
President
CARL W. WOOD
LORETTA M. LYNCH
GEOFFREY F. BROWN
SUSAN P. KENNEDY
Commissioners
I will file a concurrence.
/s/ LORETTA M. LYNCH
Commissioner
I will join Commissioner Lynch's concurrence.
/s/ CARL W. WOOD
Commissioner
