Municipal Services Committee to Receive Update on Intermountain Power Plant Project

[UPDATED] At the special meeting starting at 4 p.m., Pasadena Water and Power will brief the Municipal Services Committee on its continuing coordination with the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA), which owns the IPP, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), and other IPP-serviced jurisdictions. PWP regularly meets with the representatives of these agencies to discuss the IPP renewal project, projected costs, liabilities, as well as many other items, including the existing coal facility.

In 1987, the IPP, a coal-fired facility, began providing power to PWP, along with Anaheim, Burbank, Glendale, Los Angeles, Riverside, and a number of cities and co-ops in the state of Utah. The existing IPP contract expires in June 2027.

In 2015, the IPA, in partnership with LADWP, decided to pursue a new 50-year contract to take effect after June 2027, inviting all existing participants, including PWP, to opt-in the renewal contract. Under the renewal contract, the IPP facility will be converted to natural gas-fueled electric generation by 2025 and the coal-fueled power plant will shut down.

As part of Pasadena’s 2018 Power Integrated Resource Plan recommendation, which seeks to move away from fossil fuels, the City Council decided not to pursue the renewal contract. But since the renewal project will start generating power in 2025, and the existing IPP contract expires in 2027, Pasadena will still be liable for two years of costs associated with the renewal project.

The estimated cost of Pasadena’s share for the decommissioning of the coal generation facility along with the transmission system is projected to be approximately $3.6 million.

PWP said the decommissioning cost can be paid from any one or a combination of funding sources, including the city’s share of reserves held by IPA, which is about $8 million; reserve stranded investment in accordance with the Pasadena Municipal Code, about $60.7 million; and the operating budget for the power fund.

Pasadena receives up to 108 megawatts, or about six percent of the power generated by the IPP, PWP said.

At the Municipal Services Committee meeting, PWP is expected to provide details of the renewal project to date, Pasadena’s estimated annual costs, and the next steps with the renewal project.

Members of the community can access the special meeting via http://pasadena.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?publish_id=9 and through www.pasadenamedia.org.

Public comments may be submitted in advance through this email address: vflores@cityofpasadena.net before Tuesday, or through www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/public-comment on the day of the meeting.