20041118min.doc

IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

MINUTES OF DECISION MEETING

NOVEMBER 18, 2004 – 1:30 P.M.

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

Commissioner Kjellander called the meeting to order. The first order of business was APPROVAL OF MINUTES FROM PREVIOUS MEETINGS on October 18th, October 25th, November 1st, and November 8th, 2004. Commissioner Kjellander made a motion to approve the minutes. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

The second order of business was approval of the CONSENT AGENDA, items 2—6. There were no questions or comments. Commissioner Kjellander made a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

The next order of business was MATTERS IN PROGRESS:

Donovan Walker’s November 15, 2004 Decision Memorandum re: In the Matter of the Application of Idaho Power Company for Authority to Revise Deposit Requirements in Schedules 24 & 25 for Electric Service to Irrigation Customers, Case No. IPC-E-04-20.

Mr. Walker reviewed his Decision Memo. Commissioner Hansen asked for clarification about when the revisions would be effective if approved. Mr. Walker replied that the deposit for next year would be based on the outstanding bill as of December 31st, and staff was concerned that anyone who would potentially be subject to the higher deposit requirement should have at least 30 days advanced warning about the new requirement so they would have a chance to straighten out their bill or do what needs to be done by December 31st. Commissioner Hansen clarified that the company would provide the notice by December 1st. Mr. Walker replied that the company proposed to notify only those subject to the higher deposit requirement as opposed to all irrigation customers, and that would be anyone with an outstanding bill of at least $1,000 at the end of the year. Commissioner Hansen commented that it is fairly clear we have a small number of irrigation customers who probably pose this high credit risk, and he would be in favor of approving the application. He stated that as far as the request that we proceed in examining the bad debts of all customers, he hoped the company would be monitoring that situation every year and when it sees a blip like it noticed with its irrigation customers, it would come before the Commission with recommendations to hold down the amount of bad debt it has to write off, because in the end everybody winds up paying.

Commissioner Smith stated that she agreed with Commission Hansen that the Commission should approve the application and that no further process is needed. She stated she didn’t think we need to look into the other customer classes but if the company sees a problem, it should call it to the Commission’s attention with a recommended solution. Commissioner Smith made a motion to adopt the company’s recommendation and to give the 30-day notice to those customers who would be subject to the Tier 2 deposit requirements—about 77 customers the company estimates will have an outstanding balance of $1,000 or more at the end of the year. There was no further discussion. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

The next order of business was FULLY SUBMITTED MATTERS, items 8 and 9. Regarding item 8, Commissioner Smith stated that because of questions and comments she made during the hearing on the matter, she wanted to publicly express her appreciation for the company’s hard efforts with the community, intervenors, and the City of Eagle. She stated she thought the company had made every effort to be responsive in a reasonable manner to the needs of its customers and the citizens of Eagle.

Commissioner Kjellander asked the other commissioners if they would be comfortable making a decision regarding item 8 rather than waiting for private deliberation. There were no objections. Commissioner Kjellander moved for approval of the Stipulation that had been submitted regarding Idaho Power’s complaint against the City of Eagle. There was no discussion. A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

Commissioner Kjellander stated the Commission would break into EXECUTIVE SESSION to discuss legal matters related to the Supreme Court case and the meeting would not reconvene after that session. He then adjourned the meeting.

DATED this _____ day of November, 2004.

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COMMISSION SECRETARY

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