For whatever reason Idaho Power signed a long term contact with the wind power producers and now wants the terms of the contract changed due to various market conditions.
However, the purpose of a contract is to hold the parties to an agreement over a specific time period despite any market changes that make take place.
Idaho Power should have specified in their contract that their obligation to buy electricity from the wind power would change if demand decreased or if the cost of natural gas fell.
Power contracts are all politically motivated. What looks good under one administration, often doesn’t sit so well as power structures change and elections approach, and government subsidies expire.
What did the power customers have to say about the Wind contracts? The customers can force a change in the contracts by claiming that the contracts were signed without fully informing the customers.