20260107Staff Comments.pdf

RECEIVED
January 07, 2026
JEFFREY R. LOLL IDAHO PUBLIC
DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL UTILITIES COMMISSION
IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
PO BOX 83720
BOISE, IDAHO 83702
[phone]
IDAHO BAR NO. 11675
Attorney for the Commission Staff
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE CITY OF IDAHO )
FALLS' AND ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER'S ) CASE NO. PAC-E-25-21
JOINT APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF )
A NEW SERVICE ALLOCATION )
AGREEMENT ) COMMENTS OF THE
COMMISSION STAFF
COMMISSION STAFF ("STAFF") OF the Idaho Public Utilities Commission
("Commission"), by and through its attorney of record, Jeffrey R. Loll, Deputy Attorney
General, submits the following comments.
BACKGROUND
On November 12, 2025, Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp ("Company"),
and the City of Idaho Falls ("City") (collectively "Parties)jointly applied to the Commission
requesting approval of a new service allocation agreement("Agreement"). The Parties requested
that the Application be processed by Modified Procedure.
The Idaho Electric Stabilization Act("ESSA")prohibits an electric supplier(e.g., a
utility, municipality, or co-op) from serving another electric supplier's existing or former
customers. Idaho Code § 61-332B. Section 61-332(2)provides that the purposes of the ESSA
are to: (1)promote harmony between electric suppliers; (2)prohibit the "pirating" of consumers;
(3) discourage duplication of electric facilities; (4) actively supervise the conduct of electric
suppliers; and (5) stabilize service territories and consumers. The ESSA enables electric utilities
STAFF COMMENTS 1 JANUARY 7, 2026

to allocate territories and customers if certain conditions are satisfied. The ESSA allows electric
suppliers to contract for the purpose of"allocating territories, consumers, and future consumers
and designating which territories and consumers are to be served by which contracting electric
supplier." Idaho Code § 61-333(1). Such contracts must be submitted to the Commission for
approval. Id. The Commission will approve contracts reviewed under the ESSA if, after notice
and opportunity for hearing, the Commission finds that the agreement conforms with the
purposes of the ESSA. See Idaho Code §§ 61-333(1) and 61-334B(1).
In 2005, the Commission approved an electric consumer exchange agreement between
the Company and the City. Order No. 29895. In 2017, the Commission approved a new service
allocation agreement between the Parties that replaced the 2005 agreement. Order No. 33943.
The Parties represent that the Agreement maintains the key provisions of the existing
2017 agreement between the Parties and complies with the Idaho ESSA because it promotes
harmony among electric suppliers,prevents pirating of customers, and discourages duplication of
services. Application at 4-5. The Company states that the purpose of the Agreement is to
expedite the transfer of electric customers between the parties. Id.
STAFF ANALYSIS
Staff reviewed the Application, the previous agreement dated October 9, 2017, and the
Agreement submitted with this filing. Based on Staff s review, Staff recommends the
Commission approve the Agreement and, if approved, order the Parties to submit a compliance
filing with the executed Agreement if a copy of the executed Agreement is not received prior to
its final order in this case.
The Agreement was created due to the City's desire to revise the 2017 agreement to
expedite the transfer of customers from the Company to the City. Application at 3. Consistent
with the City's desire, Section 6 of the Agreement includes additional language that allows a
parallel path for the City to start the transfer of customers while in the process of obtaining
Commission approval.
According to the Agreement, the process of transferring a customer will start after the
City conducts a field inspection of the facilities associated with a transfer of a customer and
provides payment to the Company to compensate for the cost of the facilities and provides
security for any reconnection costs to the Company if the Commission ultimately denies the
STAFF COMMENTS 2 JANUARY 7, 2026

transfer. Once payment to the Company is received, the transfer of the customer and the
regulatory processing with the Commission will occur concurrently in compliance with the
ESSA and the other terms of the Agreement. If the Commission denies the transfer, the
Company will retain ownership of any newly installed City facilities, and the City will be
responsible for any costs associated with reconnecting the customer back to the Company's
system. See Section 6 of the Agreement.
To ensure the City does not serve new customers without first receiving Commission
approval, the Agreement stipulates that the City will not serve transfer customers of the
Company in an annexed area without Commission approval:
Subject to Section 6 of this Agreement, the City will not serve any
existing Service Entrances served by Rocky Mountain Power in an
annexed area until it has provided Rocky Mountain Power with
Compensation and obtained Commission approval to serve the
Service Entrances. Agreement at 2.
Staff believes the Agreement is in conformance with the purpose and intent of the ESSA.
The additional language in the Agreement promotes harmony between the Company and the
City, prevents pirating of customers, and allows for supervision of electric suppliers' conduct.
Staff notes the additional language does allow for the potential duplication of electric facilities if
the Commission were to deny the transfer of customers and the City has installed new facilities
to serve the customers prior to the denial. Staff believes the potential for duplication is low
because of the additional language in Section 6 and is offset by existing language in Section 5 of
the Agreement, which reduces duplication by not allowing partial transfer of customers in an
annexed area.
The Agreement provided with the Application is not an executed agreement. Staff
believes a copy of the executed Agreement should be provided to the Commission, so the
Commission has record of the executed Agreement. A copy of the executed Agreement could be
provided through the Company's reply comments or through a compliance filing after the
Commission's final order in this case. Staff recommends the Commission order the Parties to
submit a compliance filing with a copy of the executed Agreement if a copy is not filed with the
Commission prior to its final order in this case.
STAFF COMMENTS 3 JANUARY 7, 2026

STAFF RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Commission approve the new Service Allocation Agreement
between PacificCorp and the City of Idaho Falls, and, if approved, order the Parties to submit a
compliance filing with the executed Agreement if a copy of the executed Agreement is not filed
with the Commission prior to its final order in this case.
Respectfully submitted this 7th day of January 2026.
Jeffrey R. Loll
Deputy Attorney General
Technical Staff. Michael Eldred
I:\Utility\UMISC\COMMENTS\PAC-E-25-21 Comments.doex
STAFF COMMENTS 4 JANUARY 7, 2026

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT I HAVE THIS 7TH DAY OF JANUARY 2026,
SERVED THE FOREGOING COMMENTS OF THE COMMISSION STAFF, IN
CASE NO. PAC-E-25-21, BY E-MAILING A COPY THEREOF, TO THE
FOLLOWING:
Rocky Mountain Power:
MARK ALDER
JOE DALLAS
ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
1407 WEST NORTH TEMPLE STE 330
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84116
E-MAIL: mark.alder(&,pacificorp.com
joseph.dallaskpacificorp.com
datarequest(d),pacificorp.com
City of Idaho Falls:
IDAHO FALLS CITY POWER
STEPHEN BOORMAN
140 SOUTH CAPITAL AVENUE
P.O. BOX 50220
IDAHO FALLS, ID 83405
E-MAIL: sboormangifpower.com
J 4* t
PATRICIA JORDA14, SECRETARY
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE