20260423Comment_1.pdf

The following comment was submitted via PUCWeb:
Name: Melina Frankos
Submission Time: Apr 21 2026 11:53PM
Email: [e-mail]
Telephone: [phone]
Address: 333 N 8th Ave
Pocatello, ID 83201
Name of Utility Company: Idaho power
Case ID: IPC-E-26-10
Comment: "IDAHO I took the time to actually read through the filing for this case (IPC-E-26-
10), and what stands out to me is that this isn't just a simple rate increase it's a system
where the majority of cost increases are automatically pushed onto customers.
In Idaho Power's own testimony, projected power supply costs increased by over$180
million, and under the current PCA structure, about 95% of those costs are passed directly
to customers. That means when things like low water years or market prices change, the
burden doesn't stay with the company it lands almost entirely on the people paying the
bills.
And that's where this becomes more than numbers on a page.
Many of us don't have flexibility left in our budgets.We are already trying to keep up with
rising housing costs, food, gas, and everything else that has gone up. Some of us are
choosing between paying utilities and other basic needs, and getting disconnected isn't
hypothetical it's something that actually happens.
What's hard to accept is that we don't have another option. This isn't a competitive market
where we can shop around or choose a different provider. It's a monopoly, and when costs
go up, we're expected to absorb it, regardless of whether we can realistically afford to.
I understand that power costs fluctuate. I understand that low snowpack impacts
hydropower. But there needs to be more consideration for how these increases affect real
people, not just how they balance on paper.
Before approving increases like this, I hope there is serious consideration of how much
burden is being placed on customers and whether there are additional ways to reduce or
absorb costs without continuing to shift them almost entirely onto the public.
Because at some point, "only a few dollars more a month"stops being manageable when
everything else is going up too."
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