Calpine criticizes PacifiCorp process

The controversy surrounding PacifiCorp's open bidding process for new power plants is ready to heat up . . . again.

On Tuesday, executives of California-based Calpine Corp., the largest independent power producer in the Western United States, told the Deseret Morning News they held out little hope of securing a contract from PacifiCorp to build an 817-megawatt natural gas-fired plant on a portion of the former Geneva Steel site in Utah County.

"I think my sense of it is that they (PacifiCorp) are very seriously trying to find a way to award it to themselves," said Ron Walter, executive vice president for Calpine. "A lot of utilities are operating in states where they're trying to put on auctions for a face-saving measure and then selecting themselves to build it."

Calpine's criticism comes less than two months after a contentious bidding process over the 525-megawatt Currant Creek plant near Mona, Juab County.

Portland-based PacifiCorp, which operates in Utah as Utah Power and is internationally owned by ScottishPower, came under fire in November after choosing itself — from more than 100 outside bids — to build the plant, which is expected to be operational by summer 2005. In March, the Utah Public Service Commission sided with the utility, saying its self-build option was the most economical choice.

PacifiCorp has yet to announce a winning bid for its summer 2007 resource needs. In February, as hearings over the Currant Creek plant continued, PacifiCorp executives publicly stated that the Calpine option appeared to be the most economical.

At that time, Steve Schleimer, Calpine's director of market policy and regulatory affairs, was careful to point out that the company had taken no position on PacifiCorp choosing itself to build the Currant Creek project.

Kimball Hansen, a spokesman for Utah Power, said he was surprised that Calpine would publicly criticize the utility before an announcement was made.

"I know that they are being considered, and we talk with them," Hansen said. "If they've been getting vibes that things aren't going well for them, I guess that's their interpretation of the process."

Hansen said the decision by the ScottishPower board could be made as early as Friday.

Part of the delay, Hansen said, was due to a request from the board for more information from finalists relating to their creditworthiness and financial strength.

Calpine is saddled with roughly $17.3 billion of debt. In 2003, the company reported $282 million in net profit on $8.9 billion in revenues.