20030324min.doc

MINUTES OF DECISION MEETING
MARCH 24, 2003 – 1:30 P.M.

In attendance were Commissioners Paul Kjellander, Dennis Hansen, and Marsha Smith.

The first order of business was approval of the CONSENT AGENDA. Commissioner Kjellander stated he would like to move item 6 under Matters in Progress to the Consent Agenda. He made a motion to approve items 1-4 and 6 on the Consent Agenda. There was no discussion. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

The next order of business was MATTERS IN PROGRESS:

Birdelle Brown’s March 20, 2003 Decision Memorandum re: 2002 Annual Report and Recommendations for the Idaho Telephone Service Assistance Program.

Ms. Brown reviewed her Decision Memo. Commissioner Hansen asked about the projected balance and if the income and disbursements differed greatly from month to month. Alyson Anderson, the fund administrator, was participating by teleconference and replied that there are some companies that report on a quarterly basis, so the big reimbursement doesn’t happen except for once per quarter. Commissioner Smith asked several questions about the differences between Option 1 and Option 2 and what the proposed effective date would be if the Commission authorizes the changes. Ms. Anderson said she would like it to be as soon as possible, which realistically would be May 1st.

There was no further discussion. Commissioner Kjellander made a motion to approve Staff’s recommendation that there be an increase to $.12 with an effective date of May 1. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

Doug Cooley’s March 20, 2003 Decision Memorandum re: TRS 2002 Annual Report.

Mr. Cooley reviewed his Decision Memo. There were no questions or discussion. Commissioner Smith made a motion to accept the recommendations of the Idaho Telecommunications Relay Service Administrator not to change the contribution. The motion included a request that the administrator monitor the situation and alert the Commission if adjustments become necessary. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

Scott Woodbury’s March 19, 2003 Decision Memorandum re: Petition of Independent Energy Producers of Idaho (IEPI), QF Published Rate Eligibility. Case No. GNR-E-03-1.

Mr. Woodbury reviewed his Decision Memo. Commissioner Hansen stated that because the Commission has just changed the capacity size of the QF from 1 to 10 MW this past year and also increased the contract life from 5 to 20 years, and because a QF can negotiate an agreement for greater than 10 MW with an electric utility, he didn’t think it was necessary to grant the petition.

Commissioner Kjellander stated he agreed with Commissioner Hansen’s comments.

Commissioner Hansen made a motion to deny the petition.

Commissioner Smith said she sees it a little differently, and although it is true the Commission just increased the capacity size to 10 MW, she believes IEPI is probably correct that there won’t be any serious impact on the utilities or customers if it were changed to 30 MW. She said since the QFs have to pay for the interconnection studies anyway, it might help them achieve some economy in creating their projects. She said she would like to put the matter out for comment and find out if there really is any impact on the utilities or their customers in raising the limit from 10 MW to 30 MW. She said depending on the comments received, she would support raising the limit because it might help in the development of some renewable resources, particularly those not tied to natural gas as a fuel source, and it would help achieve some diversity in the resources available for electricity production in our state.

There was no further discussion on the motion. A vote was taken and the motion carried two to one, with Commissioner Smith casting a dissenting vote.

There was no further business before the Commission and Commissioner Kjellander adjourned the meeting.

DATED this _____ day of March, 2003.

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COMMISSION SECRETARY

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