20040112min.doc

IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

MINUTES OF DECISION MEETING

JANUARY 12, 2004 – 1:30 P.M.

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

Commissioner Kjellander called the meeting to order. The first order of business was approval of the CONSENT AGENDA, items 1—5. There were no questions or comments. Commissioner Kjellander made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda items. A vote was taken and the motion carried unanimously.

The next order of business was MATTERS IN PROGRESS. Commissioner Kjellander noted that item 7 would be held. There were no objections.

Don Howell’s January 5, 2004 Decision Memorandum re: Idaho Power’s Petition to Consolidate Its Annual DSM Plan and Its Conservation Plan Into a Single Report, Case No. IPC-E-03-19.

Mr. Howell reviewed his Decision Memo. There was no discussion. Commissioner Kjellander moved for approval of Staff’s recommendation to allow for consolidation of the reports without using modified procedure, recognizing that if someone objects later they can always seek reconsideration when the Commission issues its order. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

Doug Cooley’s January 9, 2004 Decision Memorandum re: Petition from Residents of the Three Creek Area Requesting EAS Into the Magic Valley Calling Area, Case No. GNR-T-00-41.

Mr. Cooley reviewed his Decision Memo. Commissioner Hansen asked if Rural Telephone agrees with the estimate Staff has proposed. Mr. Cooley replied that Staff wants to confirm the numbers with the Company before surveying the customers. He said Staff has been asking Rural for revised estimates for about year but the Company hasn’t responded. Commissioner Hansen asked if the lack of response from the Company could be an indication that it is opposed to EAS in this area. Mr. Cooley replied that the Company hasn’t expressed any opposition and he thought their response would be “whatever is best for the customers,” but the Company has simply been unable to generate an estimate for costs and projections.

Commissioner Kjellander asked if Staff’s estimate is close to what Rural’s 2001 estimate was. Mr. Cooley replied that he removed all the items that were related to capital costs, which would seem to be covered by the $400,000 construction grant, and he removed any case costs and anything else that looked like a lost revenue if EAS is granted, but in the absence of a response from the Company, he didn’t know if Staff is close or not.

Commissioner Smith noted this is an open case, and she asked if Staff had promulgated its request for information in writing in the form of a production request. Mr. Cooley stated that requests had been informal up to this point in the form of e-mails and telephone calls. Commissioner Smith suggested that Staff promulgate a formal production request with a deadline, and if an answer isn’t forthcoming, Staff can then come to the Commission with a Motion to Compel, and the Commission can then issue an order telling the Company that we want the information now. She said it occurred to her that the estimated costs could actually go down because people now have toll free access to an internet provider, so lost revenues could have decreased. She asked if the toll free internet access is provided by Rural Telephone, and Mr. Cooley confirmed that it is. Commissioner Smith stated that Rural has a self interest in keeping the customers captive, so we should put this case on a more formal track so we can find out what the lost revenue figures really are.

Commissioner Hansen stated he was also concerned that Rural had estimated the cost to be $600,000 a couple years ago, and now that there’s a $400,000 grant, Staff is saying the figure is $7,000, so he wanted to be certain about the costs and make sure that it really won’t be a lot more than Staff has estimated.

There was no further discussion. Commissioner Smith made a motion that Staff pursue information gathering through the formal process of issuing production requests, but if the Company doesn’t respond, then Staff is to come to the Commission with the appropriate motion, and once the information is provided, Staff will bring the matter in front of the Commission again. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

There were no further items on the agenda and Commissioner Kjellander adjourned the meeting.

DATED this ______ day of January, 2004.

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COMMISSION SECRETARY

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