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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20040809Vol VII Kellogg.pdfORIGINAL ...~ BEFORE THE 'l:P8~ p~Bfrtc3VrILITIES COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OFU~k~Tf~~~~tA~OF) AVISTA CORPORATION FOR AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES AND CHARGES FOR ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS SERVICE TO ELECTRIC AND NATURAL GAS) CUSTOMERS IN THE STATE OF IDAHO. ) PUBLIC HEARING CASE NOS. AVU-04- AVU-O4- HEARING BEFORE COMMISSIONER PAUL KJELLANDER (Presiding) PLACE:Silver Valley Job Service 35 Wild Cat Way Kellogg Idaho DATE:July 261 2004 VOLUME VII - Pages 1350 - 1399 .t HEDRICK PO8T OFFICE BOX 578 BOI8E, IDAHO 83701 208-336-9208 COURT REPORTING J'eM'irf tk, et/Iff/l(fQfl&; &itee 1978 For the Staff: For Avista: SCOTT WOODBURY Esq. Deputy At torney General 472 West Washington Boise Idaho 83702 KELLY NORWOOD Vice President State and Federal Regulation Avista Utilities Post Office Box 3727 Spokane Washington 99220-3727 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 5781 BOISE AP PEARANCE S 83701 WITNESS Earl Castleberry (publ ic) Eileen Wilhelm (publ ic) Iris J. Byrne (publ ic) Charles Shepherd (publ ic) Barbara Miller (publ ic) Rep. Bonnie Douglas (publ ic) Michael J. Williams (publ ic) Claudia Frago (publ ic) Frank Frago (publ ic) A. R. Rich Laws Public) Rep. Mary Lou Shepherd (Public) EXAMINATION BY Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury (Cross) Mr. Woodbury Statement Commissioner Kj ellander Mr. Woodbury Statement Commissioner Kj ellander Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury (Cross) Commissioner Kj ellander Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury (Cross) Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury Statement Mr. Woodbury Statement PAGE 1354 1354 1356 1357 1358 1359 1359 1363 1364 1364 1366 1368 1368 1374 1375 1376 1377 1382 1384 1384 1385 1386 1387 1387 1391 1391 1394 1395 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 INDEX KELLOGG, IDAHO, MONDAY , JULY 26,2004,1:00 P. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Good afternoon.Wow. Even I'm kind of afraid to hear my voice that loud. Good afternoon.My name is Paul Kj ellander, and m the chairman of this particular hearing.I m wi th the Public Utilities Commission.And today, we're here to take public testimony in Case Nos. AVU-04-1 and AVU-04-, which is also referred to as in the matter of the Application of Avista Corporation for authority to increase its rates and charges for electric and natural gas serVlce to electric and natural gas customers in the state of Idaho.So this is both a natural gas and an electric rate case that we re here to take public testimony on today. The way this will work today is we will call you up one by one for those of you who have signed up on the sheet wishing to testify, or witness list.And if you want to slgn up at any time we can either have you sign this or you can wait until we go through this list and then I'll ask if there' anyone else who would like to testify.So I don't want to shut anyone out from having access to this process. And, again, how it will work is one by one, I will call your name.You'll come forward to this center seat here.There's a little microphone and I'll have someone go 1350 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID COLLOQUY 83701 ahead and just turn it on and leave it on.There will be a little red light, and Ron will get the red light to work.And since it I S a tabletop microphone, the only thing I ask is that you not tap your fingers on the table.Otherwise, all your friends will be just extremely annoyed with you and probably chase you out of the building. What I III do is I'll call you up, you III come forward.We I 11 swearI III ask you to raise your right hand. you in.And then we I 11 have the attorney representing the Attorney General I s office who also represents the Public Utilities Commission Staff -- his name is Scott Woodbury will just ask you a couple of quick questions to get you on the record, and it usually goes as simple as your name, weill have you spell your last name, and where youl re from.And then from that point, you'll simply have an opportunity to offer up your comments that we can put officially into the record. We have a court reporter here who will dutifully take down every word that you say, and she I s usually pretty good about it and we trust her to do a good job.Her name is Wendy.Occasionally, though , you might be going just a little fast, and that I s not uncommon.Sometimes people get a little nervous in terms of testifying.So, we may have to ask you to slow down a bit.But we I 11 certainly take as much time as we need to. This will be the first public hearing that we 1351 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID COLLOQUY 83701 have on these cases.We've another one scheduled for this evening in Sandpoint, and then a third and final public hearing will be in Lewiston tomorrow. Let's see.Why don't we first just go ahead and take the appearances of the parties that are here today. there anyone from Potlatch or Coeur Mining available? MR. CHARLES COX:m here, but just as a spectator. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Just as a spectator. Okay, no applause, no clapping. MR. CHARLES COX:For Coeur, CharI i e Cox. COMM IS S IONER KJELLANDER:Good to see you again. Charlie was an attorney representing Coeur Mining and was at the technical hearings which were held last week. think we had three days of hearings. Mr. Woodbury, representing Staff. MR . WOODBURY:Scot t Woodbury. Accompanying me today from Staff are Randy Lobb, director of the utility division , in the back; and Marilyn Parker, member of the consumer assistance division. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Okay.And Mr. Norwood with Avista. MR. NORWOOD:Kelly Norwood with AvistaYes. Utilities.And we al so have a number of other employees from the Company available to answer questions later on. 1352 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID COLLOQUY 83701 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Great.Thank you. Just another thing to mention is once you glven your statement, there's an opportunity for what we formally call cross-examination.Cross-examination sounds a little more ominous than it actually is.There may just need to be a follow-up question based on something you say.It' not going to be some kind of drag-down, knock-down Q and A session.If it does turn to that, I'll quickly rap whoever is over the head who got off on the wrong track.And so quite honestly, it shouldn't be a difficult process and I hope that it's not too painful.But, again , we'd like to get your testimony on the record. And before we call our first witness, I also want to recognize Representative Mary Lou Shepherd who is here today, and I also believe we have Representative Bonnie Douglas.Is that correct? MS. DOUGLAS:That's correct. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:m usually good about faces, and you're one I'm going to have to get to meet and talk I haven't had a chance to meet you formally, so thankto more. you, and thanks for coming today. Okay, let's call our first witness, and, please, I'll apologize in advance for butchering your names.This is Earl Castleberry.Is that correct? MR. CASTLEBERRY:Yes. 1353 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID COLLOQUY 83701 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Good.If you 'd come forward? EARL CASTLEBERRY appearlng as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Mr. Woodbury. MR. WOODBURY:Thank you. EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Mr. Castleberry, please state your full name, spell your last name. Earl E. Castleberry, C- And where do you reside, sir , your address? 1145 Garden Avenue,in Osburn,Idaho. Thank you.You may glve your testimony. THE WITNESS:1 i ved in Osburn for years - - my age - - and I've seen the economy in this valley in its good times and its bad times, and right now , it is at its We have been devastated wi th the EPA , and now theseworst. people want a 14 percent increase in gas prices?We can no longer afford you people.I can'm on imi ted income. 1354 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 CAS TLEBERR Y Public afford it.I don't know what we're golng to do and what the answer is, really. We hear all these energy stories and broken pipes and, well, we've got to raise it because of this, because of that, and other things.We can no longer afford it, being on limited incomes, and I believe right now 80 percent of this valley is people on Social Security and retired, on limited incomes, and it's just come to a point where we're - - I' devastated.ve got toI can't afford a 14 percent gas rate. wear my long-handled underwear and my big, heavy coat to sit in my recliner at home in the wintertime because I've got to keep the heat down to 60 to afford you people.That ain't right. That's not life in the United States as it should be. And, actually, all of this energy, in my mind this is me talking - - quit telling us about the shortages and the downfalls of this and that and the other thing, and just come out and tell us it's plain greed.On the oil crisis and the natural gas crisis and everything, in my mind, that's all it is is just plain greed, and we can no longer afford you people. I thank you. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you. Mr. Castleberry, before you leave, let's just see if there' anyone that has any questions for you. Mr. Woodbury. 1355 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 CAS TLEBERR Y Public MR. WOODBURY:I have no questions.Thank you. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Mr. Norwood. MR. NORWOOD:No questions. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you for your testimony. (The wi tness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:We'll call Eileen Wilhelm.Ms. Wilhelm , could you raise your right hand? EILEEN WILHELM appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn , was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR.WOODBURY: Ms.Wilhelm spell your last name. please state your full name and Eileen Wilhelm, E-L, W- And where do you reside, ma' am? 117 West Cameron, Kellogg, Idaho. Okay.Thank you.You may give your testimony. I beg your pardon? You may give your testimony. Okay. 1356 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID WI LHELM Public83701 THE WITNESS:Avista spokesman stated Hugh Imhof - - that the recent revenue from the Utility rates with support of this investment would aid the Company in recovery from 2000 energy crisis. Well , if the Company goes down or something, I was in business, and you just make amends for it.You don' charge somebody else more money for it to make up what you lost.Tha t was your thing. And like when they sold the energy from Kaiser to California and closed the plant down and now it's closed for good, but the people were out of work and everything, which is very tragic, and the people in this valley can't afford it. And if they're trying to get new income coming in here and building the condos and everything, why, it's not really feasible to tack extra money on to us at this time. And the rate that they stated in the paper wasn right because no one uses $68 a month, and that's what they based it on, so that was way wrong.Because I don't know anybody that uses $68.That's your doghouse at home out in the back yard, and the dog had long hair. But that's about all I can say. But, I mean, and like them restaurants and things like that that use so much , they re going to have to jump their price of food, and the gas stations, the same way, they going to have to do it, and that really cuts into the people 1357 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID WILHELMPublic83701 here. Okay.Thank you very much. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Why don't we see there are any questions.Mr. Woodbury. CROSS - EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Are you on a level-pay payment plan? Yes. And what do you pay per month? Pardon? What is your energy payment per month? 135. Okay.Thank you. MR. NORWOOD:No questions. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you very much for your testimony. (phonetic) you. (The witness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Iris Birne COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Burn (phonetic)Thank HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID MS. BYRNE:It's Burn (phonetic) 1358 83701 WI LHELM (X) Public IRIS J. BYRNE, appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn , was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: last name. Ma' am, please state your full name, spell your My name is I r is Byrne, I - R - I - S, B - Y - R - N - E . And where do you reside, ma'am? In Kellogg. And your address? 827 West Park. Okay.You may glve Okay. THE WITNESS:was your testimony or statement. called by Eileen Wilhelm , and I helped a few seniors gather the 1,400 signatures. MS. WILHELM:(Inaudible. THE WITNESS:Okay, we gathered quite a few signatures and we spoke to many people.And we heard stories of people who had utility bills of 300 a month and people who had to close their businesses even because they couldn't pay their utility bills.And we heard a lot of hardship stories. And people who couldn't pay insurance.People who decided 1359 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTINGP. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 BYRNE Public between eating and paYlng their utility bills.People who had to 1 i ve in cold houses in winter where they kept the - - personally know of a sick woman in Wallace who had to keep her house at 55 most of the winter because she couldn't afford to heat her house. And after doing this research , I did more research.I went on my computer and I looked at the income statements of the Avista Company, and I'm noticing that they I making a prof it, a very heal thy prof it.And I don't have access to what the salaries are , but I hear they're very generous. And another thing I noticed and I have a question on lS they're selling general and administrative expenses. notice that - - do we have the financial statements here with us, the income statements from Avista? COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Ma 'am, this is an opportunity to put testimony into the record.It's not really a Q and A period for cross of the wi tnesses wi thin the case itself.But I think if you would like to ask that question of one of the members of the Company when we take a break or after the hearing, you could probably get an answer. THE WITNESS:Okay, I can condense and summari ze . What I'm saying is this company is making a very healthy profit, and this profit should not come off the backs of the ratepayers. 1360 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 BYRNE Publ i c And there's one point I would ike to make, and further research indicates that this company is also making some very heal thy campaign contributions.And do you have t ha t total amount wi th you?I don't want to give out misinformation , but I checked over the Internet and Dirk Kempthorne especially Now , is he the one who appoints the members of the Public Utilities Commission? COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Yes, and it's approved by the Senate. THE WITNESS:m noticing he's received 5,000 from the Avista Company.Now , thi s is according to the political campaign contributions.It's a matter of public record. And I would feel better if these decisions as to the laws that we need to protect the ratepayers and whether or not these rate increases are fair , I would prefer that they be made by legislators who don't receive campaign contributions from the Avista Company. And does that concludeCOMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: your testimony? That concludes my testimony.THE WITNESS: Oh, one more thing: Another thing that came up in my research was there was some tie-ins between Avista and the Enron trading 1361 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 BYRNE Public scandals, and I'm wondering if there's ever been an investigation as to the tie-ins between Avista and the Enron trading scandals. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Okay.And I know Mr. Norwood is chomping at the bit to respond, but I will not allow him to respond at this time because that's not the purpose of this hearing,but m sure that he woul d be more than eager to talk to you at a break or at the end of this hearing. THE WITNESS:Okay. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Are there questions of our wi tness Ms. Byrne? No questions.Thank you.MR. WOODBURY: COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:And this is not a way to sneak in a response. MR. NORWOOD:Just to say we'd be happy to talk wi th you afterwards. THE WITNESS:Okay. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:I do have a couple of quest ions. 1362 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 BYRNE Public EXAMINATION BY COMM IS S IONER KJELLANDER: Did you help gather the signatures? Yes, I did.We personally talked to - - gathered input from many, many people. Do you think of the people that you spoke wi th those that are ln the low income category, do you think that they're generally aware of some of the low income assistance programs and the weatherization programs that currently exist? m not sure.They - - many people said they were doing everything to keep their utility bills down, that they were closing off rooms, they were just doing everything to keep them down, and they were still getting bills of $2 - or $300 a month. Okay.I was trying to gauge whether or not you'd had an opportunity to talk with them with regards to whether or not enough information was getting out there with what might be available to help in some of those instances; certainly not every home, but a few. Another group of people that are really being seriously hurt were small business owners.You know , they have to pay utilities on both their home and their business, plus, you know, they usually have to heat or cool things like 1363 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID BYRNE ( Com) Public83701 restaurants and things, and they had very high utility bills. Okay.Well , thank you, and we appreciate your testimony today.Thank you. Thank you. (The witness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Charles Shepherd. CHARLES SHEPHERD appearlng as a public witness, being first duly sworn , was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Mr. Shepherd, will you please state your full name and spell your last name? Charles Shepherd, S- And where do you reside, sir? I live in Pinehurst, on 102 South Block - - South Pine - - Third Street in Pinehurst.My box number is 1257. Thank you.You may give your statement. Okay. THE WITNESS:ve been around in this valley for about 34 years al together.When Washington Water Power had this electric company, this utility company, I used to pay 1364 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578 , BOISE , ID 83701 C . SHEPHERDPublic about 80 to $85 a month , year-round, and I used to get quite a ways ahead on my power bi 11 .Now I'm paying $100 a month and can t even get ahead even through the wintertime.Washington Water Power used to mail me back a check about once every three or four years because I had so much paid in. But between the water bills, the utility bills on the gas lights going up, and the sewer, all that stuff has raised and has hi t this God-dang valley very, very hard.And I can t see people on fixed incomes have to pay high rates when they only get a 2. 1 percent lncrease in their pay, and then Medicare comes along and they take about a third of that away from them.They ain't got much left.And the retirement is so low from the mining companies, they can't hardly make it wi these high rates. And I don't think it's necessary with Avista or all these utility companies going around and raising their rates up, and then coming out in the paper and they brag about how much they profited from this increase.That's not putting no prof it back in the guy's pocket that is on a fixed income and has to pay the rate, on top of rent and everything else. What it's doing is forcing people out of their homes and the value of their property is going down.And I don t think it I s right to hit these old people like that. I worked for several years in the mines around 1365 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID C. SHEPHERD Publ ic83701 here and all over the United States, and I can't see people having to pay these high rates when they slave for a living and everything, and then they have to take it away from them where they can't do nothing at all. And I know several of the people that work for Avista.I know qui te a few of them that worked for Washington I was real good friends wi th a lot of them.ButWater Power. I can't see these utility companies raising these rates like they have as fast as they are.Sometimes it's two to three times a year they get raised, and I can't see that.And I can't see the Utilities Commission down in Boise letting them do it. And that's all I had to say.I helped gather a bunch of the signatures too. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Let's see if there are any questions of Mr. Shepherd. MR. WOODBURY:I have no questions.Thank you, slr. MR. NORWOOD:No questions. EXAMINATION BY COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: Mr. Shepherd, you said you helped gather some signatures, so I'll just ask the same question I asked 1366 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID C. SHEPHERD (Com) Public83701 previously is if you think people are aware, of those that might be ln a low income status, of some of the programs that might be available for assistance. Well, I think they are, but they have to have a certain cri teria in order to be able to get these - - get the aid and stuff that they've been trying to.And I can't see people having to go through the struggle on low incomes and living in cold houses and living on wood to heat and stuff like that.The EPA wants them to burn clean and everything like that and wants to have clean air, but they sure the heck don' make those kinds available with the prices that they raise in these rate hikes.And these rate hikes have went up tremendously since Washington Water Power went out. Thank you, Mr. Shepherd, for your testimony. You bet. (The wi tness left the stand. COMM IS S IONER KJELLANDER:Call now Barbara Miller. 1367 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID C . SHEPHERD (Com) Public83701 BARBARA MILLER appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn , was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Ms. Miller , will you please state your full name? Idaho. You may give your statement. Barbara Miller.Last name is M- I - And where do you reside, ma' am? My residence is 131 Village Loop in Pinehurst, Thank you. I just have a couple of footnotesTHE WITNESS: here:Besides Eileen and Iris who gathered the original 1,4 - , 500 signatures on their Petition , Charlie was really what was another one, kind of another entity out there working and he went out on his own , turned them in to our nonprofit organization that's been dealing with low income issues and, you know , overall mission to make the Silver Valley quality of life better for about 16 years.They were submi t ted and I have an addition, about 100 more signatures.So they both - - all three of them - - deserve a lot of credi t And, unfortunately, out of all of those signatures, we have very few 1368 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 MILLER Public representatives here today simply for a lot of reasons, but we're here representing their issues.And if you read the petition, it clearly said everyone who signed it is against the rate increase. So what I have to say is that I've observed Slnce the takeover of Avista of Washington Water Power several years ago that rate increases have been slowly but surely absorbed by ratepayers here, wi thout too much obj ection.The present rate increase of 13.5 percent for electric and ten percent for natural gas, as we understand it, amounts to about an average of $100 a year for ratepayers, and it's something people here simply cannot afford, especially our citizens in Shoshone County who the majority live on fixed incomes with some of the highest unemployment in the state of Idaho. Again, at least 1,500 signatures out of a population of 13,000 people collected and, you know , added their name to obj ecting to the rate increase, and I think that's a pretty good percentage.I don't have my math in front 0 f me.But as a result, the Public Utility Commission honored that and held this meeting today, and we're appreciative of that. Of the more than 24,700 households that are customers of Avista, 26 percent of them are below or at the 150 percent of the Federal poverty level.More than 11 358 of the households in the Avista Idaho service have an annual 1369 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING o. BOX 578, BOISE, ID MILLER Public83701 income of less than $9,000.Tha t average income, those cus tomers, pay on an average of over $1 , 500 a year wi th 30 to 35 percent of that amount spent on home heat alone.Whi 1 e these are low income people,they are still our famil ies, children,neighbors,and friends.And the winters North Idaho average seven months out the year where heat absolute necessi ty .They're us. The households that - - these households pay the highest percentage of their income for energy costs compared to other income groups, and these households are the most vulnerable and have next to no opportuni ty for al ternati ve sources of electricity or heat.Too often paying their utility bill can mean the difference of eating, a badly needed medical prescription, a doctor's visit, paying the rent for another month, or living in a car , worse , in addition to having to pay child care costs, transportation to and from a minimum paying job, or other basic needs. To give you an example, in June, I was the recipient of an Avista Power closure process at my own residence, and I pay my bill every month.For a ten-day interim period from the date Avista wanted the bill to be paid, approximately June 21st, my power , unknowingly, was turned off. I was out of town caring for my grandson in Washington state and the person I had taking care of my home notified me of the power turnoff on June 24 because there was water coming from 1370 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID MILLER Public83701 the refrigerator/freezer area. I immediately notified Avista to find out why my electricity had been turned off.Kathy and Lisa were the Avista employees that I reachedj their last names they refused to give to me. For the maj or duration of that day, June 24, Thursday, and June 25, Friday, I spent, in trying to figure out what was going on and why my electricity was turned off, not to mention the time and the money and long distance phone calls notifying family and friends to go in and the Kellogg office to take care of the bill. The two individuals refused to do this, and at one point I was even chided by Kathy from Avista who asked me if I was going to call the PUC and complain. I told her I would. It didn't mat ter, and it wasn't until Monday, June 28th, under great duress and an aggressive action in the Kellogg office, that the electrici ty was turned back on.The amount that had to be paid was ln excess of more than $150 over the small balance owing on the month on my bill.Consequently, considerable food items were destroyed, like it would be many people, and had to be thrown away, aside from the unprofessional manner in how I was treated by Avista employees which now has been demonstrated by at least three other customers who contacted our office with problems of power being 1371 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING o. BOX 578, BOISE, ID MILLER Publ ic83701 turned off since June.One of them had a seven-month-old child. The point is this:At best, no one should have to go through this type of treatment, and these employees should not be allowed to work for any business. ve contacted the Idaho Public Utility Commission and so have the others to file a Complaint of this treatment, and I can provide all the paperwork to pursue this I have not been called back.request. I wanted to end with a couple of statements that, with our collaborative work with the Silver Valley Community Resource Center and ICAN and the community action agencies around the state of Idaho, we do know that Avista and the community action agencles have reached some kind of agreement for $300, an amount to be paid for weatherization , and that shows good fai th and we're very appreciative of having that. Paul asked the question about the Petition signers, whether they knew about low income programs and energy assistance with those people that carried around the petitions. This is Shoshone County in the Silver Valley.We - - our office that is indirectly associated with community action gets an average of two to three calls a week and more in the winter months from people wanting to know how they can get help and keep their electricity and utilities on mainly.So it's like ve lived around here for more than 40 years and I've been 1372 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 MILLER Public doing this work with this organization for 16 years.I f there is someone here who doesn't know about those programs , it' probably remote.And, again , it may be one of the except ional areas ln this community that we do come together on and let people know about that just because of the poverty, the unemployment, and other issues that are unique to this area; unfortunate, but unique. And in closing, I just have one thing I want to As far as the EPA is concerned, that is a governmentsay: agency that has provided the only viable economic development that this community has seen since 1983 when the Bunker Hill mine and smel ter closed, and it has put in excess of $50 million in labor and wages and other costs to this communi ty .So I guess my point is without them and their purpose for being here, the Avista closures and problems that are going on could be far worse. So, that's all I have to say. COMM IS S IONER KJELLANDER:Thank you, Ms. Miller. Let's see if we have some questions. Mr. Woodbury? MR. WOODBURY:Yes. 1373 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 MILLER Publ ic CROSS -EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: I think you indicated you attempted to contact the Commission? Uh-huh. Regarding - - this is regarding your turnoff and turnon and the treatment by Avista employees? Yes. And was that a telephone call or you sent a letter to us or I only contacted the Public Utility Commission by phone because we've had very good success in the past in sending people and referring them to other problems wi utilities, so it's only been by phone for now. And was this in late June? Yes, it was. And you haven't received a call back? That's correct. Did you leave a message on a telephone answering? I did. Okay.Thank you. 1374 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID MILLER (X) Public83701 EXAMINATION BY COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: As a follow-up to that same question , we do have a representative from the consumer division today. Is it Marilyn? Yes. Right.I took her name down. What I'd like you to do is get with her before you leave, because if there was a problem in getting with the Commission , that I s something we can remedy and I think we'll be able to figure out what happened on that one. Sure.Okay. And did you mention that there were two other people that called up simultaneously in reference to that? Well , after I got back, we had calls come into our office and, yes.But to my understanding, they both called the Public Utility Commission.I don't know if they have heard back or not. Usually our advice to them is to make a contact, gi ve them the number if they need help in understanding what is they need to present, and get all their paperwork together and let them know that, and if they have to leave a message, they do that. In one case, the case of the seven-month-old 1375 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID MILLER (Com) Public83701 child, the gentleman assured me that he did call and at least left a message. Well, if you could check with Ms. Parker before you leave today, maybe we could help get to at least the bottom of your call and then we could see where we can go from there. I will. COMM IS S IONER KJELLANDER:Mr. Norwood. MR. NORWOOD:No quest ions. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Apprec ia te your testimony. THE WITNESS:Sure. (The witness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Call now Representative Bonnie Douglas. REPRESENTATIVE BONNIE DOUGLAS, appearlng as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Representative Douglas, if you 'll please state your full name and spell your last name? Yes.My name is Bonnie Douglas, D- 1376 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578 , BOISE, ID DOUGLAS Public83701 and I live at 214 Lakeview Drive, in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Thank you. THE WITNESS:The reason I came today is because m very concerned about the ability of low income and fixed income people in Idaho to pay this rate increase.Idaho has a poverty population of about 13.8 percent of our total population and we rank 16th in the nation.In the panhandle area up North, we have a seven percent unemployment rate that ranges in Benewah County at 9.3 percent - - these are June 2004 figures - - 9.3 percent Benewah County; Bonner County, 7 percent; Boundary County, 7.3 percent; Kootenai County, 6 . 6 percent; Shoshone County, where we're located today, 8 . 4 percent.This is actually our high employment time of the year, but we have had in the last year unemployment in some of these counties of double digits.And so I'm very concerned about these people that are unemployed, people with low incomes, fixed incomes, including the seniors and the disabled who are living on $595 a month, that they could afford a 13. percent increase in electrici ty or ten percent for gas. I saw statistics recently that 39 percent of Idaho can barely make a basic family budget for a family of two adults and two children, and, you know, 39 percent, you know and actually less than that - - you know, a lot of people cannot afford the basics in their very - - you know, their lives. I saw statistics from ICAN and it said that, 1377 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID DOUGLAS Public83701 actually, Idaho's median household income from 2000 to 2002 dropped $ 7 8 0 .So, actually, I don't know , you know, that there's more current information available than that, but we' actually - - you know, people have less disposable income than they have had before.We've had more bankruptcies, people have higher transportation costs with the gasoline prices going up, and we have more working poor.We have personal bankruptcies have grown 26.3 percent in that same period from 2000 to 2002. In 2003, Avista shut off more than 500 families power in the spring because they couldn't pay their bills. Also, ICAN reports that in the winter of 2002 and 2003, 2 989 families declared eligibility for the winter moratorium because they couldn't pay their power bill.Unfortunately, winter up especially where we're at today goes much beyond February. Winter goes into March and April.As a matter of fact, I brought weather statistics that the average minimum temperature in Spokane, which is not at the elevation we're at today, in March is 29 degrees, in April is 36 degrees, and in May is 43 degrees.And in the Silver Valley where we're at today, we' at much higher elevation.Those temperatures would be probably ten degrees lower. Idaho I S per capita electricity consumption is the ninth highest in the United States.We have a long heating season , from October through April.We have hot summers. We I ve had three, you know , 90 -degree spells this summer. 1378 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING o. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 DOUGLAS Public People's - - to cool their houses, you know , people' electricity usage during the summer is elevated also. And I basically feel that in the state that we' where 16.percent the people have not had - - don't have heal th insurance for the entire year,rank tenth in the nation in that,these are families under stress and there disposable income for these low income people, and if there' going to be a rate increase I think there's going to have to be an increase in assistance programs or we're going to have to extend moratorium periods to help these people on fixed incomes. The rate increase - - also another thing I hear concerns about and you've heard some of this today from other people is that, you know, if there have been losses in the past, you know, someone mentioned the legal defense, you know for Avista for power trading acti vi ties.You know , we want to be sure that the Public Utility Commission is not allowing any legal costs for defending or for investigating - - you know , any investigative activities on Avista' s power trading activities should not be pushed on to the ratepayers. Also, we think that the rate increase should looked at in terms of administrative costs.And another person that testified today mentioned, you know, salaries, executive salaries, and I see statistics in the paper - - and papers aren't always accurate - - but of $800,000 salaries for chief 1379 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID DOUGLAS Publ i c83701 executive offices, multimillion-dollar signing packages including stock and signing bonuses, and basically, you know the question is , you know , whether or not these administrative costs are in line with what they should be. And so we trust that the Public Utility Commission will look at these types of things when they come to reviewing this. In the statistics from ICAN, it said that 356 Avista customers got low income heating assistance during the winter of 2002-2003.If you raise the rates, I believe that these rates are going to go up, and that more people are going to be impacted.We have a lot of working poor people here and the jobs have been evaporating.We have small businesses that are going to be affected that are already struggling to survive, you know, the Wal-Marts that come to town and the Costcos, and, you know, I'm a little concerned about the local grocery store, you know , the corner gas station and all these other businesses that have refrigerated goods and that people - - low income people - - typically are using these And we have no public transportation, and peopleresources. spend a lot more on transportation costs and heal th right now and so this burden added on to that I think may be significant. So I'd ask you, you know, to really look at this and really come up with the minimum rate that you really feel is justified, and I know that's the job that you're required to 1380 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578 , BOISE , ID 83701 DOUGLAS Public do, but that's the job we expect you to do.And we don't want anyone left in the cold and we don't want people in our region to be suffering, you know , in freezing houses and having pipes freeze and all the expenses with that. A lot of people here live in rental homes, in rental housing.They have little control over their - - the weatherization.And there's backlogs at a lot of the weatherization programs, and so people either don' - - really don't all have the opportuni ty to, you know , to help control and imi t their energy costs. And so, you know , I think , you know, I ask for your - - to be compassionate about this, because it really kind of tugs at my heart strings when I hear the stories of people, you know , who are being burdened by all the costs that are going up in their lives, and this is one that I just want to make sure that the rate increase that does go into effect is what's deserved. And so those are some of the concerns I've heard from consti tuents. Thank you.Are thereCOMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER: any questions? 1381 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578 , BOISE , ID 83701 DOUGLAS Public CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Representative Douglas, I wasn't paying a lot of attention to the Legislature this past session, and I' wondering, do you chair or serve on any legislative commi t tees? m on transportation and And -- Now , as a matter of fact, I will not be there next seSSlon , so I was wondering, perhaps, if you can share wi us what the Idaho legislature has done recently to actively address the unemployment and poverty in Northern Idaho and perhaps assistance programs , medical , energy, transportation and small business that they were involved in in addressing the poverty that is here and the unemployment? m on the bus iness commi t tee al so and there' been some efforts to try to allow some, you know , tax breaks to encourage businesses, and tax credi ts And the - - I think that the Legislature has, wi thin the constraints of the budgets, you know , that we' had, which have been tight budget years the two years that I' been in the of f ice, has tried to - - we had workers' comp, you know, froze the rates , there's been some business development 1382 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701 DOUGLAS (X)Public tools that have been out there, and there is - - there's much more that can be done, I'm sure.And the rural development grants have tried to, you know - - the Governor's rural development grants have tried to address and allow money so that areas could put in the infrastructure that they need to encourage businesses to come. So I think a lot has been going on and there' certainly a lot more that can be done to at tract businesses to Idaho, but I think that, you know, we really, you know - - the power rates have always, you know , ln the past have always been an attraction point to coming to the Northwest was that we had low power rates, so, you know , I think that the climate, you know, is changing and, you know , if that's not going to be the case, that may work against us also.So that's just another consideration, but -- All right.Thank you very much. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Are there any further questions? MR. NORWOOD:I have no quest ions. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Okay.Thank you for your testimony today. THE WITNESS:Thank you for coming. (The witness left the stand. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:We'll call now Michael Williams. 1383 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID DOUGLAS (X) Public83701 MICHAEL J. WILLIAMS, appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn , was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Ms. Williams, will you please state your full name and spell your full name for the record, please? Michael J. Williams, M- I -L, initial And your residence, ma' am?Where do you reside? 102 West Mission in Kellogg. Thank you.You can glve your statement. Uh-huh. THE WITNESS:I have not a lot to add to what' been said already, but I know in my personal financial business, when I run out of money, I'm out of money.I don' have anybody to turn to.Why can't businesses operate that way? COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:And does that complete the statement you wanted to provide for us today? THE WITNESS:Pretty much. COMM IS S IONER KJELLANDER:Are there any questions? 1384 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID WILLIAMS Public83701 MR.WOODBURY:No questions. MR.NORWOOD:No questions. THE WITNESS:When do we get answers? COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Well, on that one, if you 'd like to ask some specific questions of either the Staff or the Company representatives, they will be available at the end of this hearing today, and I'm sure they will be more than happy to talk to you. THE WITNESS:All right.Thank you. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you. (The wi tness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Call now Claudia Frago. CLAUD IA FRAGO, appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: THE WITNESS:My name is Claudia Frago. last -- my first name is C-My last name EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: And where do you reside? 1385 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID C . FRAGO Public83701 At 605 Nevada Street in Pinehurst. Thank you.You may give your statement. THE WITNESS:Anyway, we moved here about five years ago from Northern California, and when we moved here, the rates were really low for electricity and for natural gas. Since then, they have gone sky-high, and I want to say that obj ect to any more raises. And I want to - - I would like to also ask about Avista donating $5,000 to the Public Utilities Commission. That's what this lady had said. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Well, I think in that testimony she was referring to political contributions made to elected officials. THE WITNESS:Oh, okay.m sorry. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:That's okay. THE WITNESS:Anyway, that's all I have to say. Thank you. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Thank you.Before you leave, let's see if there's some questions. Mr. Woodbury. MR. WOODBURY:I have no questions.Thank you very much. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Mr. Norwood. MR. NORWOOD:No questions. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you for your 1386 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID C . FRAGOPublic83701 testimony. THE WITNESS:You re welcome (The wi tness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:And we'll call now Frank Frago. FRANK FRAGO, appearlng as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Mr. Frago, will you please state your full name, spell your last name? Yes.Frank Frago, F- Any relation to Claudia? m her husband. Same address? Same address:605 Nevada Street, in Pinehurst. Thank you. THE WITNESS:We're retired and on Social Security and a small retirement.We have lived in Pinehurst my wife said five years, but it's actually six years, and the rates, like she said, have just gone upward in that six years. 1387 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID F . FRAGO Public83701 It started out that the rates were what we considered reasonable.Now they re not. I read the paper qui te a bi t and I understand that Avista' s had some real bad investments in natural gas, and, apparently, this request that's before the Public Utilities Commission , part of this request for an increase is to make up the, like I say, bad investments.I don't think that this should fall onto the ratepayers to pay.I think that this should be a stockholder's responsibility. Also, Spokane-Review has reported recently that - - and this has nothing to do with this particular request, but Spokane-Review reported that Avista is asking for another 14 percent in gas rate hikes, and that's in addi tion to this request for 8.6, and I find this ludicrous. How high is it going to go?I mean, we live in a -- Idaho, you know , is probably 75 percent, maybe 80 percent timberland.That may not be an accurate but I think it I s fairly accurate that 75 percent or 80 percent of Idaho is timber.Why can't Avista use a little bit of their brain and say - - okay, I worked in a lumber mill for 30 years.The particular lumber mill that I worked in. - - Georgia Pacific had their own power plant.They ran - - this was a very large operation.There were two saw mills, two planing mills, an operation that covered approximately 40 acres.They - - all of the electricity that the mill used was produced on its own, 1388 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID F . FRAGO Public83701 plus they sold excess electricity to the electrical - - the utility company.If a company like that - - and I know that most lumber mills, maybe not in Idaho, but in particular, Northern California, had their own electricity producers. just can't see why Avista can't use a little bit of the superabundance of natural resource that we have here. From what I understand, another - - and I'd like to pose this question to you probably.Avista is in - - is now beginning to build a gas-fired electrical plant.How much the effect of using that gas - - we know that natural gas shortages are probably what Avista is saying, this is the reason why we want to raise the rates.Now Avista is turning around and they're going to use a superabundance of natural gas just to produce electricity.That doesn't seem right to me. Again , you re relying on the ratepayers to make up the cost and a profit for Avista, and I think, you know , this should go back to the stockholders.If you want to burn up gas and create shortages, lay it on the stockholders, not the ratepayers. I think that's about all I have to say. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Thank you.Let's see if there's some questions. Mr. Woodbury? MR. WOODBURY:No questions.Thank you. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Mr. Norwood. MR. NORWOOD:No questions. 1389 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID F . FRAGO Public83701 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you. THE WITNESS:I'd like to get my question answered though about, you know, how much if Avista is going to have this gas-fired plant, how much is that going to further add to the shortage of gas in North Idaho. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:And as wi th all questions, if you would like to ask that of the Company following this meeting, I'm sure they 'd be happy to talk to you about the cost of natural gas and what they perceive to be the impact of those purchases. THE WITNESS:Well, I sure hope that the Public Utility Commission takes this into consideration. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:In the technical hearings last week, just to kind of add a little additional information, that was an area that was actually brought up and discussed at length wi thin the technical hearing aspects, and that's also part of the record there as well. THE WITNESS:All right.Well, thank you. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you. (The wi tness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:That exhausts the list that we had, so at this point I'd like to ask if there I s anyone else that would like to testify today who hasn't signed up for the list.We have time.So if you would ike to come up and testify, we would certainly be more than happy to take your 1390 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID F . FRAGO Public83701 testimony.Come on up. MR. A. R. RICH LAWS:(Indicating. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Good.I knew if I kept begging we'd get one more.I hate to come this way and not get everybody, and I hate for folks to leave and get to the parking lot and say, Gosh, darn it, I wish I'd said this. MR. A. R. RICH LAWS:They don't call me Motor Mouth for nothing. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Okay. A. R. RICH LAWS, appearlng as a public witness, being first duly sworn, was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR.WOODBURY: Sir,will spell your last name? you please state your full name and A. R. Rich Laws.My last name is L- live at 206 Northview, Smelterville, and have for 51 years. Okay.You may give your statement. THE WITNESS:Well, our heating problem - - guess you could call it a problem -- takes about half our income, but when we first purchased our little home there in 1391 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID LAWS Publ i c83701 Smel terville, we had an oil heater.Oil was like 15 cents a gallon at that time.We could burn four,That was real good. five gallons of oil a day and afford to pay it.I was working five days a week for like $9 a shift or something like that. Well , then pretty soon , Washington Water Power says, Hey, electricity is real cheap, why don't you change to electric.And oil started going up and up.So we put in baseboard electric throughout the home, and which was real reasonable the first two or three winters.Then pretty soon, the Washington Water Power decided they wasn't getting enough so they started up, up, and up the cost. So it finally got to where we just couldn't afford it, so we put in a small wood stove.We have a small home.And that worked out real good for six or seven years, and, as everything else, the poor wood cutters had to have a decent 1 i ving, so they started upping their prices. So then they said , Hey, natural gas now is the only thing and it's not going to increase very much, so why don't you - - so we took out our wood stove and put in natural And just like - - and we've had natural gas now for aboutgas. eight years, and it was reasonable the first two or three winters, but the last - - I don't know how many raises we've had on gas and electric.Seems like every six months we get one. But my Social Security check went up two percent, I think it was.I'd I ike to have the salaries of the 1392 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID LAWS Public83701 Washington Water Power people, the executives, if any of those only got two percent raise.And - - but that's nei ther here nor there.I didn't go to Yale or somewhere and learn to do any different. But I think that they better get this eight percent raise or whatever it is that's been pending, what is it, six months now that they requested, and that should be plenty at this time I say. And I've been - - my wife and I have been retired for 23 years now.I retired early at 62 years old.m now 85.And my pension check from the company I worked for , which was Gulf Resources, Bunker Hill, Pintlar , whatever they want to go by, it's right to the penny exactly what it was the day retired.There's no COLA on it, there's not an official at Avista that ever settles for a fixed income, but they want to get their profits from the people that are on the fixed income. And I could go on for forever on it.And wi th little, bitty company pension, my Social Security, it puts us a very few dollars over the so-called poverty level, which ln my estimation we're still in poverty, but we don't qualify.What is it, $ 9 , 000 a year they say you have to be under to get any assistance from Avista or anything? So I think - - I just speak for my friends and neighbors - - that's part of our problems.Thank you. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Thank you.Let's see 1393 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 L~S Public if there's any questions.Mr. Woodbury. MR . WOODBURY:Thanks for your testimony. MR. NORWOOD:No questions. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:And for an impromptu bit of comments today, that was very concise and very good, and thank you. THE WITNESS:Didn't take me too long, did it? COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Worked out fine.Nope. Thank you very much. THE WITNESS:Thank you. (The wi tness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Is there anyone else who'd like to testify today?Representati ve Shepherd. REPRESENTATIVE MARY LOU SHEPHERD appearing as a public witness, being first duly sworn , was examined and testified as follows: EXAMINATION BY MR. WOODBURY: Representative, please state your full name, spell your last name. Mary Lou Shepherd, S- And your residence? 1394 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID M. SHEPHERD Public83701 273 Crescent Drive, Wallace, but it is a Pritchard address where I live. All right.Thank you. THE WITNESS:Thank you so much for being here today.I appreciate the fact that you re listening to my people.I had not intended to speak, but to listen to what my constituents had to say.But for those that are not able to be here - - and there are many, because of one reason or not, are not able to - - I shall try to be their VOlce. This is still a very depressed area, though you may see prosperity here and there throughout this valley. Houses here are selling at a record rate, but they average about $28,000.The ski condos are being built, but our people that live there now won't be sharing in that prosperity. Our once thriving natural resource jobs have been depleted.Those that are left are service paying jobs only. There is not a week goes by but when I don't recelve a call from a constituent in District 2 needing help, and it is not always help with energy billsj however, I have had many of them, and I have had help from Avista in addressing that. These people are already making choices between groceries, medication, other bills including their utilities and I am concerned that a raise in the rate of their utilities will further impact the choices that they have to make. 1395 HEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE , ID 83701 M. SHEPHERD Public Idaho has one of the very lowest rates for energy and that is one reason why businesses are coming to Idaho, and we need to keep that business-friendly atmosphere for them , and hopefully they will still come here because of the energy rates. The 8.4 percent unemployment rate in Shoshone County right now is down from 16.4 a year ago; however, that doesn't really address what's really happening out there. does not show those that have dropped out because there are no jobs for them and those that are no longer on the unemployment rolls.So regardless of what you see around here as perhaps looking that, oh, we're picking up in this valley, we still have a greatly depressed area, most are on fixed incomes, and they re the ones that concern me. But I do thank you so much for listening to us. I know you will do justice for us.And thank you so much for your time. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you.Are there any questions? MR. WOODBURY:Thank you, RepresentativeNo. Shepherd. THE WITNESS:Thank you. MR. NORWOOD:No questions. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Thank you f or your testimony. 1396 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID M. SHEPHERD Public83701 THE WITNESS:Thank you. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Appreciate it. (The wi tness left the stand. COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:Well, that brings us to the conclusion of this particular session of our public hearings.Again, as a reminder, we have public hearings again tonight in Sandpoint and then again tomorrow in Lewiston. There also is a period of time - - and I'm not sure what our window is - - if you'd like to submit some additional public comment.You can either go to the Public Utility Commission Web site and submit comments via the Internet, or you can actually mail your comments if you 'd like to add something else once you leave here today if you should have another thought you'd like to at least share with us that we could reVlew. Do we have a comment deadline established yet for that? MR. WOODBURY:Anything through the end ofNo. thi s week would be fine. COMMI S S IONER KJELLANDER:Okay.Clearly, anything through the end of this week will be fine, and to be quite honest, even if it comes in after this week we still take a look at it and give it some weight.So, again , we look forward to hearing from you if you have any additional written comments you 'd like to submit to us. 1397 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID COLLOQUY 83701 And I also would like to thank you very much for taking time out of your schedules today to come here, and know many people were concerned that you may have thought you didn't have a good turnout.I can tell you that we've gone to locations around the state and held public hearings and had virtually no one show up, so this is actually a very good We appreciate your willingness to come here and tot urnou t . share your thoughts and ideas. So, again, thank you, and we are adj ourned (The hearing adj ourned at 2: 05 p. m. ) 1398 HEDRICK COURT REPORTING O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID COLLOQUY 83701 AUTHENTI CATION This is to certify that the foregoing is a true and correct transcript to the best of my ability of the proceedings held in the matter of the Application of Avista Corporation for authroity to increase its rates and charges for electric and natural gas service to electric and natural gas customers in the state of Idaho, Case Nos. AVU-E- 04 -1 and AVU-04-1, commencing on Monday, July 26, 2004, at the Silver Valley Job Service, 35 Wild Cat Way, Kellogg, Idaho, and the original thereof for the file of the Commission. WEND J. MUR otary Publ in and for tH State of Idaho, residing at Meridian , Idaho. My Commission expires 2 -2008. Idaho CSR No. 475 1399 AUTHENTICATIONHEDRI CK COURT REPORTING P. O. BOX 578, BOISE, ID 83701