Supreme Court Rules
in favor of the Oregon Department of Energy and Idaho Power
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Stop B2H Coalition Spring 2023
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The Stop B2H Coalition Board of Directors expressed profound disappointment with the Oregon Supreme Court decision on March 9. The court ruled in favor of the Oregon Department of Energy’s Facilities Siting Council (ODOE/EFSC). Board members say that the Court’s decision leaves five counties of eastern Oregon unprotected from damage by Idaho Power’s planned B2H transmission line. Read the full press release here. |
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Ω Ω Ω Click here for a story and a 10 minute segment from KGW-TV, Portland. And another from the Baker City Herald.
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So Now What? ...
A big hurdle for Idaho Power is looming in the current Contested Case at the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) on
a - Certificate of Public
Necessity
and Convenience - (CPCN), which is necessary for eminent domain!
This certificate is required in order for Idaho Power to file for condemnation of private
lands. There are eight parties in this case (including STOP and some of our prior contested case warriors.) On April 19-20 we begin the cross-examination phase, then two briefings in May. The case is expected to conclude late June.
STOP
opposes this
certificate because there are alternatives, and we do not believe a long
distance overhead line is “publicly necessary.” It could
be an option, but not one that would rise to such a level as to condemn
people’s land.
Idaho Power knows that the industry is changing rapidly and wants to
build this line before (as STOP predicts) an overhead line like this is
obsolete.
It is essential for landowners to understand their rights and not be bullied
into signing unfavorable agreements. Landowners are being asked to sign
agreements for allowing the transmission line prior to being provided with
detailed maps, and prior to an assessment that includes e.g.: the value of timber or
agricultural products that the owner could produce and sell over the100-year
life of the B2H Line.
STOP
has been arguing that Idaho Power has failed to complete the work that
they should have completed prior to asking for a CPCN. For example,
surveying and mitigation planning, accurate mapping,
and proposals to all landowners. This lack of completion puts the
parties at a disadvantage in this contested case since we still lack information,
such as: the Budget! The budget is an important OPUC decision criteria.
Ω Ω Ω
There are additional Next Steps (e.g.: mitigation plans and amendments to the EFSC Site Certificate) to keep track of especially at this critical time when things are pending and ground has not been broken! If you can help with "watch-dogging," please contact us: info@stopb2h.org.
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Idaho’s Largest Energy Storage Projects Under Construction; More Solar on the Way - FINALLY!
Read comments from STOP: here. And check out the story, here.
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Cool Innovations & Trends...
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More Cool Trends - Here. Check 'em out!
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Making Connections…
River
Democracy Act,
Ladd
Creek Watershed
and the B2H
Here is an Op Ed piece written by on of our “contested case
warriors” who discovered, like many of us, that our state rules have many holes
or they are so outdated that there are very little protections of our natural
resources. In this piece,
Protecting
our Rivers and Watersheds, Kevin March
discusses the River Democracy Act and one of the B2H contested cases about Ladd
Creek and LC watershed. Read on here. |
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Story and Photo: Karen Antell
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Many of you are in OTEC Country!
Annual meeting is coming right up -- in La
Grande on May 6th. This is an opportunity to hear the reports from OTEC board
and ask questions. Last year’s was
informative. It’s important for their
Board to hear fresh new voices that want energy from a diversity mix, so we are
not completely captured by the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA). We seek
more energy resilience in local communities too.
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A great webinar sponsored by Rocky Mountain Institute reveals
the challenges that rural electric Coops face.
The slides are here. It is a little technical but the some quick
takeaways are:
Ω Coops, as
compared with investor-owned utilities like Idaho Power and PacifiCorp, do not have shareholders to rely on for capital
investments, or easy ability to get bank loans and access to capital for
investing in new technologies. If they
do that, they have to charge us--the ratepayers. Whereas, a for-profit investor-owned utility,
can access capital and then later go to the OPUC and ask for cost
recovery. This puts the rural Coops at a
disadvantage.
Ω Another piece of interest is that Coops are now eligible for
investment funding under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and we need to
encourage our Coop to think big, different, and future-focused! We need to help them see that by diversifying
their energy mix and not relying solely on the BPA’s cheap hydro-electric
power, they will be better positioned strategically to compete in the energy
market of the future. At a minimum, they
can apply for funds for feasibility studies and planning.
Related, our very own Norm Cimon, discusses "Turning the Grid Upside Down" in his Op Ed piece in the La Grande Observer. The opinion piece was in response to another; but his points are those OTEC needs to hear from all of its customers! |
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www.stopb2h.org | 541-406-0727 | info@stopb2h.org
Our mailing address is: 60366 Marvin Road, La Grande, Oregon 97850
Stop B2H Coalition is a 501c3 nonprofit organization, registered in the State of Oregon.
Donations are tax deductible.
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