Utah PSC hears Rocky Mountain Power seek roughly $431.6 million final EBA recovery; regulator and intervenors propose major disallowances

Rocky Mountain Power asked the Utah Public Service Commission to approve final recovery of its 2023 energy balancing account, seeking roughly $431.6 million in Utah-allocated net power cost after the Commission’s interim-rate adjustments.

The request was presented during a multi‑day evidentiary hearing on docket 24‑035‑1. Jack Painter, the company’s net power cost advisor, summarized the company’s filing and the adjustments that remain in dispute. “The company filed its annual EBA application on May 1, 2024 for the deferral period of January 2023 through December 2023,” Painter said in his sworn summary, noting an original request of about $455,000,000 and a revised recovery level the company now seeks of $431,600,000.

Why it matters: The EBA lets Rocky Mountain Power pass through most net power costs between rate cases. Large EBA balances affect customer charges and prompt scrutiny from state regulators and intervenors when market prices, generation outages, or accounting changes drive sharp swings.

What the company told the commission - Painter and other company witnesses said the 2023 balance reflects multiple drivers: reduced coal generation due to fuel and supply issues, lower hydro and wind production, higher wholesale prices, and a change in interim‑rates carrying charge treatment. Painter described the company’s remaining contested items as: a $600,000 (including interest) prior‑period replacement‑power entry tied to thermal outages; $19,400,000 (including interest) related to Washington Climate Commitment Act compliance costs for the Chehalis facility; $72,300,000 (including interest) the Division says is an improper portion of Pac West trading activity allocated to Utah; and a $4,800,000 prior‑period entry for Schedule 137 costs…