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20250807Comments.pdf
' Kootenai Electric COOPERATIVE RECEIVED August 7, 2025 IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION August 7, 2025 Via Email Only Secretary Monica Barrios-Sanchez Commission Secretary Idaho Public Utilities Commission 11331 W. Chinden Blvd. Building 8, Suite 201-A Boise, ID 83714 Email: secretary@puc.idaho.gov Re: Comments of Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Inc. Case No. GNR-E-25-02 Dear Secretary Barrios-Sanchez: Please find attached Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Inc.'s ("KEC") comments for filing in the above-referenced proceeding. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding the attached filing. Sincerely, lsl Michael G. Andrea Michael G. Andrea General Counsel Attachment cc: Service List 9014 W. Lancaster Rd. I Rathdrum, ID 83858 M © O TEL 208-765-1200 I TOLL FREE 800-240-0459 I FAX 208-772-5858 EMAIL kec@kec.com I WEB kec.com Michael G. Andrea(ISB No. 8308) General Counsel Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Inc. 9014 W Lancaster Rd Rathdrum, ID 83858 Phone: (208) 292-3280 Email: mandrea@kec.com Attorney for Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Inc. BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF COMMISSION ) STAFF'S APPLICATION FOR ) CASE NO. GNR-E-25-02 APPROVAL OF A FILING PROCESS FOR ) WIDLFIRE MITIGATION PLANS ) COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. TO COMMISSION STAFF'S APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF A FILING PROCESS FOR WILDFIRE MITIGATION PLANS Pursuant to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission's ("Commission") Rule of Procedure 203, and the Notice of Modified Procedure issued in this proceeding on July 24, 2025 (Order No. 36686), Kootenai Electric Cooperative, inc. ("KEC") submits these comments in response to Commission Staff s Application for a Wildfire Mitigation Plan Filing Process ("Application") and Staffs Supplement to Application("Supplement") in the above-captioned matter. Comments are due on or before August 7, 2025. Order No. 36686. As more fully discussed herein, KEC respectfully requests that the Commission establish a schedule for submitting wildfire mitigation plans ("WMPs") for approval pursuant to the Wildfire Standard of Care Act("Act") that ensures that WMPs for all electric corporations that desire to file a wildfire mitigation plan can be reviewed and approved by the Commission as early as practical and, in any event,before the 2026 wildfire season. KEC further requests that the Commission limit the information regarding costs related to WMPs that electric corporations, Page - 1 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. and in particular electric corporations that are not public utilities, are required to provide to the Commission. The Act requires the Commission to ensure that WMPs satisfy certain minimum requirements and requires that the Commission to consider the feasibility and cost of implementation of WMPs. See I.C. § 61-1804(1). KEC respectfully submits that the Commission satisfy the requirements of the Act by obtaining resolutions or attestations from the governing bodies of non-IOUs that those governing bodies have reviewed the applicable costs and feasibility of their WMPs and determined that(i) they reflect a reasonable balancing of mitigation costs with the resulting reduction of wildfire risk, and(ii) that the WMPs include financially prudent and reasonably practicable methods of line design for new,planned, and existing lines to mitigate fire risk. See I.C. § 61-1803(3), 61-1804(l). The Commission should ensure that its review and approval of WMPs does not inadvertently usurp non-public utility electric corporations' governing bodies' authority with regard to costs and rates. Finally, as a general matter, the Commission should ensure that all information that the Commission requires electric corporations to provide is useful and necessary to review and approve WMPs and updates to those WMPs, and that such requirements are not overly broad or unduly burdensome. KEC requests that the Commission direct Commission Staff to hold workshops with electric corporations to determine the appropriate information to be provided in periodic reports required by the Act. I. Background In the 2025 legislative session, the Idaho Legislature enacted the Wildfire Standard of Care Act. 2025 Idaho Sess. Laws Ch. 249 (S.B. 1183). The Act allows electric corporations that are not public utilities, including KEC, to adopt and file WMPs with the Commission"at any time permitted by the commission." I.C. § 61-1803(2)(b). The Commission is required to Page - 2 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. approve or reject WMPs that are filed with the Commission within six (6)months of the date such WMPs are filed. I.C. § 61-1804(1). The Act provides that"[a] commission-approved plan shall establish measures for the electric corporation to prepare for and address wildfire risk and shall establish the electric corporation's duty to its members and the public." I.C. § 61-1805. Importantly, the Act establishes "a rebuttable presumption that an electric corporation acted without negligence if, with respect to the cause of a wildfire, the electric corporation reasonably implemented a commission-approved wildfire mitigation plan." I.C. § 61-1806(1). Finally, the Act provides electric corporations the ability to perform vegetation management and fire mitigation work on private,public and tribal property over the landowner's objection so long as such work is performed in accordance with a commission-approved WMP. I.C. § 61-1807. Since the enactment of the Act, KEC has been preparing a WMP to comply with the requirements of the Act. KEC's intent is to file its WMP as soon as possible so that its WMP is approved by the Commission well before the 2026 wildfire season. On June 18, 2025, Commission Staff submitted its Application. Staff states that its primary objective in this proceeding is to establish a regulatory process that each investor-owned utility("IOU"), electric municipality and cooperative utility can follow to comply with the Act. Application at 1. Staff proposes staggered filing dates for the IOUs and recommends that other electric corporations, including cooperatives, file their WMPs "no earlier than December 1, 2025[.]" Id. at 6-7. On July 10, 2025, Commission Staff submitted its Supplement. In its Supplement, Staff provides additional information and includes a request to require each utility to include Staff's recommended components as set forth in Exhibit 1 to the Supplement. Supplement at 1. Staff Page - 3 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. also requests that each electric municipality and cooperative file a"Need to Know" document as set forth in Exhibit 2 to the Supplement. Id. at 1-2. II. Comments KEC appreciates Commission Staff initiating this proceeding to establish a process for filing WMPs to comply with the Act. KEC respectfully submits the following comments in response to Staff s Application and Supplement. A. The Commission Should Establish an Expedited Schedule for Filing WMPs to Ensure that All Electric Corporations have an Opportunity to have an Approved WMP Before the Start of the 2026 Wildfire Season. The Act authorizes the Commission to order WMPs to be filed at a date determined by it and may stagger filing dates. I.C. § 61-1803(2)(a). Electric corporations that are not public utilities may adopt and file a WMP "at any time permitted by the commission." I.C. § 61- 1803(2)(b). The Commission is required to approve or reject WMPs that are filed with the Commission within six (6)months of the date such WMPs are filed. I.C. § 61-1804(1). In its Application, Staff proposed a schedule for filing WMPs. Application at 6-7. Pursuant to Staff s proposed schedule, the first investor-owned utility("IOU"), Idaho Power, would not be allowed to file its WMP until October 1, 2025. Id. at 6. That is almost a month after Staff anticipates a final order in this proceeding. See Application at 9 (requesting an order by September 5, 2025); Supplement at 2 (stating that Staff does not believe the Supplement will necessitate a change in its request for an order by September 5, 2025). Rocky Mountain Power and Avista, would not be able to file until October 17 and November 10, 2025, respectively. Id. Staff further proposes that all other electric corporations, including KEC, be prohibited from filing WMPs until at least December 1, 2025. Id. at 7. Page - 4 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. Staff states that it believes that its proposed filing dates "will provide sufficient time for the Commission to review and approve or reject all currently anticipated WMPs before the next fire season, defined as May 10 October 20 each year by the Idaho Department of Lands." Id. at 2.nl. However, Staff anticipates that at least eleven non-IOU entities intend to file a WMP with the Commission. Id. at 6. Accordingly, if Staff s proposed schedule is adopted, the Commission will need to review at least twelve (Atlanta Power's and eleven non-IOU entities') WMPs in the period from December 1, 2025 to May 9, 2026. See id. at 6-7. It is important that all electric corporations are afforded an opportunity to have an approved WMP well before the start of the 2026 wildfire season so that they can be prepared to implement their approved plans before the wildfire season commences. Staff s proposed schedule for filing WMPs calls into question the ability for KEC, and other non-IOU utilities, to have an approved WMP prior to the 2026 wildfire season.1 KEC requests that the Commission establish a schedule for filing WMPs that, to the extent practical, ensures that all electric corporations (IOUs and non-IOUs) are afforded an opportunity to have an approved WMP as soon as reasonably possible. Specifically, the Commission should allow the IOUs to start filing their WMPs as soon as a final order is issued in this proceeding. The Commission should also consider shortening the amount of time between each IOU's filing.z The remaining electric corporations, including KEC, should be allowed to file their WMPs no later than November 1, 2025, to ensure that all WMPs are reviewed and approved(or rejected)no later than May 1, 2026. See I.C. § 61-1804(1) (requiring the 1 KEC notes that,if the Commission takes the full six months allowed under the Act to review and approve or reject a WMP filed on December 1,2025,such WMP would not be approved until the end of May 2026—nearly a month after the start of the 2026 wildfire season. 2 Staff proposes 17 days between the first IOU(Idaho Power's)filing and Rocky Mountain Power's filing,24 days between Rocky Mountain Power's filing and Avista's filing,and 21 days between Avista's filing and the earliest date that all other electric corporations would be allowed to file their WMPs. Page - 5 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. Commission to review and accept or reject each WMP within six months of receiving such WMP). B. The Commission Should Limit its Requests for, and Review of, Information Regarding Costs of Electric Corporations that are Not Public Utilities to Ensure that the Commission is Not Engaging in Rate Regulation or Otherwise Usurping the Authority of the Governing Bodies of those Utilities. The Act requires WMPs to identify the means for mitigating wildfire risk that reflect a reasonable balancing of mitigation costs with the resulting reduction of wildfire risk including, among other things, financially prudent and reasonably practical methods of line design for new, planned, and existing lines to mitigate fire risk. I.C. § 61-1803(3). In reviewing WMPs, the Commission is required to ensure that the minimum requirements of the Act are satisfied and is to consider, among other things, "the feasibility of the plan and the cost of its implementation." I.C. § 61-1804(1). Commission Staff requests a significant amount of information regarding costs to be included with, or in, each WMP and/or compliance report that is filed with the Commission, including: • A cost-benefit analysis to justify the utility's expenditures for risk mitigation in its WMP (Supplement at 6); • An evaluation of costs to wildfire risk reductions associated with its methods of line design for new lines and planned upgrades to reduce wildfire ignition potential in heightened wildfire risk areas (Supplement at Exhibit 1); • A breakdown of each program category's forecasted costs by year for both capital and O&M expenditures through the length of the WMP (Supplement at Exhibit 1); and • Identification in each annual compliance report of monthly targets with estimated costs and monthly actuals with actual costs for measurable targets, goals, and metrics for components of the utility's approved WMP (Supplement at 6). Staffs requests for information do not distinguish between public utilities and electric corporations that are not public utilities. The information requested by Staff goes well beyond Page - 6 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. what is necessary for the Commission to satisfy the requirements under the Act. More fundamentally, to the extent that Staff requests information from electric corporations that are not public utilities to "justify the utility's expenditures" (Supplement at 6), such requests are not appropriate. Much of the information that Staff is requesting will not provide useful information to the Commission for its review. For example, Staff requests cost-benefit analysis to justify expenditures for risk mitigation for each WMP. Supplement at 6. This request fails to recognize that, in most instances, wildfire risk mitigation is just one of several factors that may be considered with regard to any particular expenditure. In most instances, it is difficult, and probably impossible, to distinguish between the costs attributable to wildfire risk mitigation associated with certain activities—such as undergrounding lines, installing steel poles, replacing outdated equipment, and even vegetation management—and costs of normal operations or costs to improve service or for reliability. To perform the requested cost-benefit analysis, utilities would need to assign a certain portion of such costs to wildfire risk mitigation. Any such assignment of costs to wildfire mitigation (as opposed to some other purpose, such as reliability) would be arbitrary, at best. Therefore, the requested cost-benefit analysis would not provide any useful information. The same issue discussed above with regard to Staff s request for a cost-benefit analysis applies equally to other cost information requested by Staff, including its request for an evaluation of costs to wildfire risk reductions associated with its methods of line design for new lines and planned upgrades to reduce wildfire ignition potential in heightened wildfire risk areas. See Supplement at Exhibit 1. In rare cases, some action may be taken specifically for wildfire mitigation. In most instances, wildfire mitigation is just one of many factors that is considered in Page - 7 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. deciding on methods of line design for new lines and planned upgrades. Assigning costs to any specific factor would be arbitrary. Attempting to evaluate the costs of wildfire risk reductions associated with methods of line design would be a purely academic endeavor that would not yield any useful information for the Commission to evaluate. Staff s requests also are likely to usurp non-IOUs' governing boards' authority with regard to costs and rates. Electric corporations that are not public utilities (i.e. the non-IOU utilities) are not subject to rate regulation by the Commission. See, e.g.,Bollinger v. Fall River Rural Elec. Coop., Inc., 152 Idaho 632, 641 n.7, 272 P.3d 1263, 1272 n.7 (2012); Clearwater Power Co. v. Washington Water Power Co., 78 Idaho 150, 151, 299 P.2d 484, 485 (1956); Sutton v. Hunziker, 75 Idaho 395, 401, 272 P.2d 1012, 1015 (1954). While the Act does require the Commission to ensure the minimum requirements of the Act are satisfied and to consider the feasibility of the WMP and the costs of its implementation, the Act does not authorize the Commission to engage in rate regulation of electric corporations that are not public utilities. See I.C. § 61-1804(1). Therefore, to the extent that Staff requests information from any electric corporation that is not a public utility to "justify its expenditures" or to explain how the utility "evaluates projects that are least-cost", such requests are not appropriate. See Supplement at 6, Exhibit 1,page 5. The governing bodies of non-IOUs, such as KEC's board of directors, are charged with reviewing their respective utility's costs and regulating rates. The Commission should ensure that its review of WMPs and updates and periodic reports under the Act does not infringe upon the authority of the non-IOUs' governing bodies. KEC respectfully submits that the Commission can satisfy the requirements of the Act without usurping non-IOU' governing bodies' authority. For example, the Commission can satisfy the requirements of the Act by obtaining assurance from each non-IOUs' governing body Page - 8 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. (in the form of an attestation or board resolution, for example) that such governing body has reviewed the feasibility of its WMP and the costs of its implementation and has determined that (i) the WMP reflects a reasonable balancing of mitigation costs with resulting reduction of wildfire risk, and(ii) the methods of line design for new, planned, and existing lines to mitigate fire risk are financially prudent and reasonably practicable. See I.C. §§ 61-1803(3), 61-1804(1). KEC intends to file a WMP for review and approval by the Commission and is prepared to work with the Commission and Commission Staff to satisfy the requirements of the Act. KEC is also prepared to work collaboratively with Staff to develop a process for attesting to its board's review of its WMP and its costs of implementing its WMP. The Commission should ensure that the information non-IOUs are required to submit to the Commission is necessary and is useful and does not create undue burden on those utilities. The non-IOU utilities are considerably smaller than the IOUs and do not have the staff that is available to the larger IOUs. Finally, the Commission should ensure that it is not inadvertently infringing on non-IOUs' governing boards' authorities and regulating non-IOUs' rates through its review and approval of WMPs. C. The Commission Should Reject Staffs Request for Utilities to Report Fires. In its Supplement, Staff requests that the Commission require that"each compliance report contain a list of any fire that occurred within '/4 mile of the utility's infrastructure or any fire that has burned into the utility's infrastructure during the compliance year, explaining any unofficial or official reported causes of ignition for the fire, the approximate location of the start of the fire, and if there was any damage to company infrastructure, structures, property or any persons[.]" Supplement at 7 (internal footnote omitted). This request is overly broad, unduly burdensome, and exceeds the requirements of the Act. Page - 9 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. The Act requires electric corporations to submit reports on an annual basis (or such other basis as the Commission may prescribe). I.C. § 61-1803(5). These reports are required to include "documentation describing the development and adoption of the wildfire mitigation plan's components and measures,the wildfire mitigation expenditures, and the work taken to develop and adopt the plan's components and measures." Id. In sum, the Act requires each utility with an approved WMP to provide a report regarding its development and work on the mitigation plan and a description of its wildfire mitigation expenditures. The Act does not require or contemplate that utilities report the existence or causes of fires. KEC is not the appropriate entity to report on the existence or causes of fires. KEC has no way of knowing about all fires that occur in the areas that it serves. Fires may occur at locations within 1/4 mile of KEC's infrastructure without KEC knowing, or having any reason to know, about the fire. This is especially true if the location where the fire occurs is served by a utility other than KEC.3 Additionally, KEC is not the appropriate entity to determine or report the causes of any fires. To the extent that an official cause of a fire is determined by a qualified agency or entity, the Commission should obtain such cause from that qualified agency or entity. To the extent that there is no official cause of a fire, KEC cannot speculate on the cause. KEC does not object to some limited reporting regarding the occurrence and general location of any fire that it is aware of and that directly impacts its electric system. The scope of that reporting should be addressed in workshops (see request for workshops below)to determine the contents of periodic reports. To the extent that the Commission desires to collect information about all fires within a 1/4 of a mile of KEC's infrastructure and the causes of those fires, it should 3 KEC notes that Avista and KEC have facilities in the same general geographic areas in and around Kootenai County,Idaho. In several locations in the area that it serves,KEC's electric system in close proximity to Avista's facilities. Page - 10 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. obtain that information from the appropriate agency or entity, such as state and local fire districts, the Idaho Department of Lands,National Interagency Fire Center, the National Fire Incident Reporting System, and/or the Integrated Reporting of Wildfire Information(IRWIN) system. Requiring utilities like KEC to monitor, investigate, and report the official or unofficial causes of all fires within 1/4 mile of their infrastructure would require significant additional staffing and would be unduly burdensome. D. The Commission Should Conduct Workshops with All Electric Corporations to Determine What Should be Included in Reports Required by the Act. The Act requires utilities with approved WMPs to submit periodic reports describing their development of WMP components and measures and descriptions of their wildfire mitigation expenditures. Specifically, the Act requires each electric corporation with an approved WMP to, submit a report to the commission updating the commission on the electric corporation's compliance with its wildfire mitigation plan on an annual basis or such other basis as the commission may prescribe by rule or order. The report shall include documentation describing the development and adoption of the wildfire mitigation plan's components and measures, the wildfire mitigation expenditures, and the work taken to develop and adopt the plan's components and measures. I.C. § 61-1803(5). The information that Staff requests to be included in each such report includes: • Identification of monthly targets with estimated costs and monthly actuals with actual costs for measurable targets, goals, and metrics for components of the utility's approved WMP; • An explanation of how the utility complied with each minimum requirement in Idaho Code § 61-1803(3) and any Commission orders within this case or future orders, explaining any discrepancies; • A compliance status update with its annual WMP filing, detailing its compliance and updates on meeting its measurable targets/goals to help inform any changes to its new WMP; and Page - 11 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. • A list of any fire that occurred within 1/4 mile of the utility's infrastructure or any fire that has burned into the utility's infrastructure during the compliance year, explaining any unofficial or official reported causes of ignition for the fire, the approximate location of the start of the fire, and if there was any damage to company infrastructure, structures, property or any person. Supplement at 6-7. The information that Staff is requesting is not limited to descriptions of development of WMP components and measures and descriptions of their wildfire mitigation expenditures. Staff s requests regarding periodic reporting go well beyond the requirements of the Act.4 The Commission should not issue an order mandating the contents of periodic reports at this time. To ensure that the periodic reports that are submitted provide useful information to the Commission and comply with the requirements of the Act, KEC requests that the Commission direct Staff to conduct workshops with electric corporations to discuss the information to be included in those reports and to provide the Commission recommendations for periodic reports based on those workshops. Such workshops will ensure that the periodic reports required by the Commission provide useful information and do not create undue burdens on utilities or the Commission. Staff requests that the first report be submitted one year and 60 days after the first WMP is approved. Supplement at 4, 7. Therefore, there is ample time for the parties to conduct such workshops before the first report is due to be filed. E. The Commission Should Ensure that Any Guidelines Regarding WMPs Provide Sufficient Flexibility to Allow Smaller Electric Corporations the Ability to Develop WMPs that are Reflective of and Commensurate with the Size and Complexity of Their Operations and the Nature of the Fire Risk. Staffs Supplement states that"[fJollowing collaboration with the interested parties in this case, Staff requests the Commission order each utility to follow these reasonable guidelines a KEC notes that in some instances, Staff s requests appear to be duplicative(compare the first and third bullet above,for example). Page - 12 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. listed within Exhibit No. 1 for any WMP to meet the requirements for approval."' Supplement at 3. The Act requires WMPs to "be developed using approaches and methods that are designed to protect the public interest and are reflective of and commensurate with the size and complexity of the electric corporation's operations and the nature of the fire risk." I.C. § 61-1803(3). KEC is concerned that the requirements in Exhibit 1 are designed for larger IOUs. For example, Staff s Exhibit 1 includes a requirement for all electric corporations to "include how the electric corporation clearly identifies, selects, and evaluates projects that are least-cost, least- risk" for projects such as line rebuilding, undergrounding, etc. Supplement at Exhibit 1, page 5. Similarly, Staff s request that each WMP represent a minimum three-year rolling plan to "allow Staff to review the projected expenses for multiple years as the plan is implemented." Id. at 3. These requirements go beyond the requirements of the Act and may infringe on non-IOUs' governing bodies' authority. As discussed above, wildfire mitigation is just one of many factors that is considered in evaluating projects such as line rebuilding and undergrounding. Requesting information about how the utility identifies projects that are least-cost necessarily requires information about factors that are not related to wildfire mitigation. Requesting smaller utilities to project expenses up to three years out creates similar concerns. KEC appreciates the guidelines provided by Staff in Exhibit 1 to its Supplement. However, those guidelines appear to be developed primarily for, and in collaboration with, larger IOUs and should not be rigidly applied to all electric corporations. The Commission should ensure that any guidelines regarding WMPs provide sufficient flexibility to allow smaller electric 5 Exhibit 1 to Staff s Supplement appears to be the result of collaboration between Staff and the IOUs. KEC did participate in a Staff presentation on WMPs and subsequently had a conversation with Staff about the cost information being requested from non-IOUs but otherwise has not collaborated with Staff on the contents of WMPs. Page - 13 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. corporations the ability to develop WMPs that are reflective of and commensurate with the size and complexity of their operations and the nature of the fire risk. See I.C. 61-1803(3). III. Conclusion KEC appreciates the opportunity to submit comments for consideration in this proceeding. As more fully discussed above, KEC respectfully requests that the Commission (i) adopt a schedule for filing WMPs that ensures that all electric corporations have an opportunity to obtain an approved WMP prior to the 2026 wildfire season, (ii) ensure that any information that non-IOUs are required to submit to the Commission is useful and necessary and that such information is not used to inadvertently regulate the rates of those non-IOU utilities or otherwise usurp the authority of the non-IOU utilities' governing bodies, (iii)reject Staff s request to require electric corporations to report fires and the official or unofficial causes of those fires, and (iv) require Staff to conduct workshops with electric corporations to determine what information should be included in periodic reports and to provide the Commission recommendations for those reports based on those workshops before the Commission issues any order mandating the contents of those periodic reports. Finally, the Commission should ensure that any guidelines regarding WMPs provide sufficient flexibility to allow smaller electric corporations the ability to develop WMPs that are reflective of and commensurate with the size and complexity of their operations and the nature of the fire risk. See I.C. 61-1803(3). Respectfully submitted this 7th day of August 2025. KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. lsl Michael G. Andrea Michael G. Andrea General Counsel Page - 14 COMMENTS OF KOOTENAI ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE, INC. CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that I have this 7th day of August 2025, served the foregoing Comments of Kootenai Electric Cooperative, Inc. upon all parties of record in this proceeding by electronically providing a copy thereof to: Commission Staff: Adam Triplett Deputy Attorney General Idaho Public Utilities Commission PO Box 83720 Boise, ID 83702-0074 Email: adam.triplett@puc.idaho.gov Avista Corporation: Anni Glogovac Elizabeth Andrews Counsel for Regulatory Affairs Sr. Manager of Revenue Requirements PO Box 3727 PO Box 3727 1411 E. Mission Ave., MSC-13 1411 E. Mission Ave., MSC-27 Spokane, WA 99220-3727 Spokane, WA 99220-3727 Email: anni.glogovac@avistacorp.com Email: liz.andrews@avistacorp.com w/copy to: AvistaDockets@avistacorp.com Bennett Lumber Products, Inc. Idaho Forest Group Manulife Investment Management, Molpus Woodlands Group, Stimson Lumber Company: Pendrey P. Trammell Smith+Malek, PLLC 601 E. Front Ave., Ste. 304 Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814 Email: service@smithmalek.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE City of Idaho Falls: Stephen Boorman Michael A. Kirkham Interim General Manager City Attorney City of Idaho Falls, Idaho—Idaho Falls Power City of Idaho Falls, Idaho PO Box 50220 PO Box 50220 140 S. Capital Ave. 375 "D" Street Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Idaho Falls, ID 83402 Email: sboorman@ifpower.org Email: mkirkham@idahofalls.gov Idaho Department of Lands: J.J. Winters Tyre Holfeltz Attorney for Idaho Department of Lands Wildfire Risk Mitigation Program Manager 300 N. 61 Street, Ste. 103 300 N. 61 Street, Ste. 103 Boise, ID 83702 Boise, ID 83702 Email: jwinters@idl.idaho.gov Email: tolfeltz@idl.idaho.gov Idaho Power Company: Megan Goicoechea Allen Tim Tatum Donovan E. Walker Riley Maloney Lisa C. Lance Connie Aschenbrenner Idaho Power Company Idaho Power Company PO Box 70 PO Box 70 Boise, ID 83707 Boise, ID 83707 Email: mgoicoecheaallen@idaho Email: ttatum@idahopower.com dwalker@idahopower.com rmaloney@idahopower.com llance@idahopower.com cschenbrenner@idahopower.com w/copy to: dockets@idahopower.com PotlatchDeltic Corporation: Michele Tyler, Esq. Peter J. Richardson Anna Torma Richardson Adams, PLLC Wade Semeliss 515 N. 271h St. Brian Schlect, Esq. Boise, ID 83702 601 W. First Ave. Ste. 1600 Email: peter@richardsonadams.com Spokane, WA 99201 Email: michele.tyler@potlatchdeltic.com anna.tonna@potlatchdeltic.com wade.semeliss@potlatchdeltic.com brian.schlect@potlatchdeltic.com CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE Risch Pisca, PLLC Attn: Jeremy Pisca 407 W. Jefferson Street Boise, ID 83702 Email: jpisca@rischpisca.com Rocky Mountain Power: Mark Alder Joe Dallas Idaho Regulatory Affairs Manager Senior Attorney 1407 West North Temple, Suite 330 825 NE Multnomah, Suite 2000 Salt Lake City, Utah 84116 Portland, OR 97232 Email: mark.alder@pacificorp.com Email: joseph.dallas@pacificorp.com lsl Michael G. Andrea Michael G. Andrea General Counsel CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE