20240610News Release.pdf

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Idaho Public Utilities Commission BradLjtde,Governor
P.O. Boot 83720. Boise. ID 83720-007d En(Anderson, President
Jolr R.Hammor4 Jr, Commissioner
Edward Lodge,Commissioner
Case No. BGR-R-24-01
Order No. 36216
Contact: Adam Rush
Office: [phone]
E-mail: adam.rushgpuc.idaho.gov
NEWS RELEASE: Commission holds railroad company's late fees in abeyance.
BOISE (June 10, 2024)—The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is temporarily halting
financial penalties imposed on a north Idaho railroad after it failed to pay its annual assessment
fees.
BG& CM Railroad,Inc. received a$10,000 penalty that will be held in abeyance if the railroad
complies with terms spelled out by the commission.
Railroads and public utilities in Idaho that are overseen by the commission pay an annual
assessment that covers the commission's expenses for supervising and regulating the utilities
during the next fiscal year. At most, a railroad's annual assessment can be 1 percent of its gross
intrastate operating revenues, but not less than $50. After calculating each railroad's
proportionate assessment based on all the railroads' reported intrastate operating revenues for the
previous year, the commission notifies each one of its assessed regulatory fee by May 1 of each
year. The railroads are then required to pay their fees in equal, semi-annual installments by May
15 and Nov. 15 of each year.
BG& CM was late paying its 2023 assessment and interest from 2022 that carried forward. The
2023 assessment balance was $14,775.57. In addition, the railroad owed $308.46 in interest on
the unpaid 2023 assessment and$49.25 in interest carried forward from the 2022 assessment.
Michael Williams, the railroad's president, paid the balance for 2023 after attending a show
cause hearing at the public utilities commission. The commission agreed to waive the $10,000 at
the end of five years if the railroad pays annual assessments for 2024 through 2028 on time.
Additional information is available at puc.idaho.gov/case/Details/7256.