Notice of Utility Tariff Filings
The REGULATORY COMMISSION OF ALASKA (Commission) gives notice that Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. (GVEA) filed tariff revisions TA276-13 and TA277-13. With TA276-13, GVEA proposes a First Amendment (Amendment) to the Agreement to Extend Transmission Facilities and For the Sale and Purchase of Electric Power between GVEA and Fairbanks Gold Mining, Inc. (Fort Knox). With TA277-13, GVEA proposes a revision to its Cost of Power Adjustment (COPA) methodology to remove the Fort Knox Mine Credit from the COPA calculation.
The Amendment filed with TA276-13 proposes the following substantive changes to the Agreement to Extend Transmission Facilities and For the Sale and Purchase of Electric Power between GVEA and Fort Knox (Original Agreement) approved by the Commission with Order No. U-93-094(2), effective May 9, 1994.
- All references in Schedule 4 of the Original Agreement to “GS-2” or “GS-2 (General Service)” have been revised to “GS-3” and “GS-3 (Industrial Service)”.
- Paragraph 5.06, Margin Credited to Cost of Power Adjustment, of the Original Agreement and Exhibit F to the Original Agreement shall be deleted in their entirety.
- The Energy Rate Credit paragraph of Schedule 4 of the Original Agreement is amended to provide for a discount to the energy rate of 0.9 cents per kWh of Electric Power delivered and sold to Fort Knox for the period of March 1, 2016 through December 31, 2017. The paragraph is further amended to provide a discount to the energy rate of 0.5 cents per kWh of Electric Power delivered and sold to Fort Knox for the period of January 1, 2018 through the later of December 31, 2018 or the date of the final order issued by the Commission in GVEA’s proposed 2016 General Rate Case.
- A new paragraph is added to Schedule 4 of the Original Agreement to allow Fort Knox a onetime opportunity, within thirty days after the final order issued by the Commission in GVEA’s proposed 2016 General Rate Case, to elect to receive its electric service either (a) under the Original Agreement as amended by the proposed Amendment; or (b) under the GS-3 rates and charges approved by the Commission in the final order issued by the Commission in GVEA’s proposed 2016 General Rate Case. If, during the proposed 2016 General Rate Case, Fort Knox is moved to a rate class other than GS-3, Fort Knox will have thirty days after the final order issued by the Commission in GVEA’s proposed 2016 General Rate Case, to elect to receive its electric service either (c) under the Original Agreement as amended by the proposed Amendment; or (d) under the rates and charges approved for the rate class Fort Knox has been moved to by the Commission in its final order in GVEA’s proposed 2016 General Rate Case. Under any of the elections provided for in the new paragraph, the rates and charges selected will be subject to all future adjustments made by GVEA and approved by the Commission pursuant to the SRF process after January 1, 2018.
- The terms and conditions of the Amendment will be subject to a sunset provision should Fort Knox’s load drop below a monthly demand of 25,000 kW for two consecutive months. If the sunset date occurs, Fort Knox will receive its electric service from GVEA under the rate class appropriate for its load characteristics at that time under the provisions of Schedule 4.
- The pricing arrangement in the Amendment is subject to a reopener that can be exercised by either party when the following conditions are met: (i) One year has elapsed after the date of the final order issued by the Commission in GVEA’s proposed 2016 General Rate Case; and (ii) the rates and charges derived under Paragraph 8.2 of the Amendment are more than five (5) percent under or more than five (5) percent over the cost-of-service established for Fort Knox’s customer class in the final order issued by the Commission in GVEA’s proposed 2016 General Rate Case.
With TA277-13, GVEA proposes removing the Fort Knox Mine Credit from the COPA calculation. Currently, the Fort Knox Mine Credit offsets approximately $4 million of projected costs per quarter and puts downward pressure on the COPA.
This notice does not contain all requested revisions and the Commission may approve a rate or classification that varies from those proposed. You may obtain more information about these filings by contacting Monica Grassi, Regulatory Specialist at GVEA, at P. O. Box 71249, Fairbanks, AK 99707; phone: (907) 458-5788. The complete filings are also available for inspection at the Commission’s office at 701 West 8th Avenue, Suite 300, Anchorage, AK 99501; phone: (907) 276-6222, or may be viewed at the Commission’s website at http://rca.alaska.gov by typing “TA276-13” or “TA277-13” in the Find a Matter search box.
To comment on these filings, please file your comments by 5:00 p.m., February 12, 2016, at the Commission address given above or via our website at:
https://rca.alaska.gov/RCAWeb/WhatsNew/PublicNoticesComments.aspx
Please reference TA276-13 and/or TA277-13 and include a statement that you’ve filed a copy of the comments with GVEA at its address given above or by email at mgrassi@gvea.com. Individuals or groups of people with disabilities, who require special accommodations, auxiliary aids or service, or alternative communication formats, please contact Joyce McGowan at (907) 276-6222, toll-free at 1-800-390-2782, TTY (907) 276-4533 or send a request via electronic mail to rca.mail@alaska.gov by February 5, 2016.
DATED at Anchorage, Alaska, this 20th day of January, 2016.
REGULATORY COMMISSION OF ALASKA
Julie C. Vogler
Acting Finance Section Manager