20210802Telephonic Hearing Transcript Vol I.pdf

BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICA?ION
OT AVISTA CORPORATION FOR, THE
AUTHORITY TO INCREASE ITS RATES
AND CHARGES FOR ELECTRIC AND
NATURAL GAS SERVICE FOR ELECTRIC
AND NATURAL GAS CUSTOMERS IN THE
STATE OF TDAHO
CASE NOS. AVU-E-21-01
AVU-G-21-01
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BEEORE
COMMTSSIONER KRISTINE RAPER (presiding)
COMMISSIONER PAUL KJELLANDER
COMMISSIONER ERIC ANDERSON
PLACE Cornmission Hearing Room
11331 West Chinden B1vd.Building 8, Suite 201-ABoise, Idaho
DATE:July L4, 202L
VOLUMEI-Pagesl-11
CSBREPORTING
C e fiifrc d Sho ft h and Rep o rter s
Post Office Box9774
Boise,Idaho 83707
csbreporting@yalroo. com
Ph: 208-890-5198 Fax: l-888-623-6899
Reporter:
Constance Bo.y,
CSR
ORIGINAL
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APPEARANCES
For the Staff:JOhn R. f,rrrrnold, Jg . , ESq
Deputy Attorney General
11331 West Chinden BIvd.Building 8, Suite 201-A
PO Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83120-001 4
For Avista Corporation:
( Telephonically )
David iI. ldeyer, Esg.
Avi-sta Corporation
PO Box 3121
Spokane, Washington 99220
For Idaho Conservation
League:(Of Record)
Benjanin ,I. Otto, Esg.Attorney at Law
Idaho Conservation League
710 N. 6th StreetBoise, Idaho 83102
For Wal*Mart:(Of Record)
Noanan M. Senanko, Esq.
and Vieki M. Bal.dwin, Esg
PARSONS BEHLE & LATIMER
800 West Main, Suite 1300
Boise, Idaho 83102
For the Community Action
Partnership of Idaho:(Of Record)
Brad M. PurdyAttorney at Law
2019 North 17th StreetBoise, Idaho 83102
For the Idaho Forest
Group:(Of Record)
Rona].d L. 9[i].].iams
W]LLIAMS BRADBURY, P
PO Box 388
Boise, Idaho 83701
C
Eor Clearwater Paper
Corporation:(Of Record)
Peter J. Richardson, Esq.
RICHARDSON ADAI{S, PLLCPost Office Box 12L8
Boise, Idaho 83702
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APPEARANCES
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CSts REPORTTNG
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INDEX
WITNESS EXA},IINATION BY PAGE
David Schaible
( Public)
Statement 6
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CSB REPORTING
208.890.5198
BOISE, IDAHO, WEDNESDAY,JULY 14, 2021, 7:00 P. M
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Okay, good evening.
This is the time and place for a public hearing in Case
No. AVU-E-21-01 and AVU-G-27-01, 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 service to electric and natural gas
customers i-n the State of Idaho.
The purpose of thj-s hearing tonight is to
take testimony from members of the pubJ-ic in reference to
Avista's request, which was filed with the Commission on
January 29th, 2027. My name is Kristine Raper. I'11 be
the Chair of tonight's proceeding. Al-so on the line are
Commissioner PauI Kjellander and Commissioner Eric
Anderson.
To this point, several parties have
intervened. A1I partj-es met for settl-ement negotiations,
which have since resulted in a stipulation and settl-ement
signed by all parties and resolving aII issues, which is
currently before the Commission for review and approval.
A public workshop was held on June 16th
and prefiled testimony and public comments as well as a
technical hearing have not yet occurred in the case.
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Tonight we wil-l- take public testj-mony and the transcript.
will be added to the underlying record in the case. The
Commissioners will- review facts and evidence i-n the
record to make its final- decision in this case.
For those of you who are a party to the
case, your line has been automatically muted on our end.
If you are a party to the case, please press star three
on your phone now. It wil-l gj-ve my assistant Adam, who
is also our PIO, it will give him a raised hand signal
and indicate that you are a party to the case. He can i
then unmute your l-ine, and j-n a moment, we'11 get each of
the parties on the record.
After we get you on the record, we will-
ask that you control mute on your end, much like
Commissioner Kjellander and Commissioner Anderson and
that wdy, if do you have any questlons of any of the
witnesses, you have an opportunity to interject, and
going to questions of the witnesses, normally in a
hearing we'11 ask each of the parties after each witness
if they have any questions. In order to streamline this,
Iet's give a presumption that no questions will be asked
of the witnesses, of the public witnesses, by the parties
to the case.
Usually good judgment prevails in that
regard and questions are not asked; however, if a party
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208.890.sr-98
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finds that they woul-d like
the witnesses, then please
me and we'l-1 make sure that
record, so in
record, letts
its
Raper.
General-
to ask a question of one of
furtherance of gettlng the parties on the
start with Staff's representation through
just interject
we get all of
YOU,
Irm a
the
and interrupt
that on the
Commissioner
Deputy Attorney
Idaho Public
Deputy Attorney General.
MR. HAMMOND: Thank
My name is John Hammond.
with the State of Idaho at
Utilities Commissi-on.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, Mr.
Hammond, and next,
on the line?
MR.
do we have anyone representing Avista
MEYER: Commissioners, yes, David
Meyer appearing on behal-f of Avista. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, Mr. Meyer.
Anyone representing Idaho Conservation League? Okay,
Idaho Conservation League is represented by Benjamin
Otto, but we wil-l- move on to representation for Wal*Mart,
and if we're missing you because you're trying to speak
and we didn't get you initially, again, press star three
on your phone and we'l-l make sure and get the
representation on the record. Wal*Mart is represented by
Norm Semanko 1n this case and Vicki Ba1dwin.
Is there anyone representing the Community25
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Actlon Partnership Association of Idaho on the phone,
CAPAI? Okay, CAPAI is represented by Brad Purdy. Anyorre
representing Idaho Eorest Group? Quiet night. Ron
Williams is representing Idaho Forest Group. Is anyone
representing Clearwater Paper Corporation on the line?
And Clearwater is represented by Peter Richardson in this
caser so it l-ooks l-ike unl-ess Avista has cross of any of
our public witnesses that that or our Deputy Attorney
General, attorney for Staff, then there may not be much
cross in this case after all.
Okay, moving on to the public witnesses in
this case, for those of you who have called in to provide
verbal testimony, your line has been automatically muted
on our end. Please press star three on your phone in
order to indicate that you would like to provide
to testify, we willtestimony.
unmute the
When it's your turn
lines indivj-dually and you'11 actually hear an
announcement on your end saying that your line has been
unmuted.
When you hear that your line has been
unmuted, you will
court proceeding,
the record, which
last name, address,
Avista and then you
be sworn in.
I will- ask you
incl-udes your
As with any
to identify
official
and whether you
can provide your
yourself for
name, spelling of your
ofare a customer
testimony, and then25
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208.890.5198
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when your testimony 1s completer w€ will re-mute your
1ine.
If you decide throughout the proceeding at
some point that you would like to testlfy, you can hit
that star three and we wil-l- get the indication on our
end, and when it's your turn, you will be unmuted. We do
use a court reporter f or these hearj-ngs.
Connie Bucy creating an official record
transcript, so that l-eads us to calling
and we do appear to have somebody who is
Tonight we have
for the
.i
the first witness
interested in
testifying for the
Are
benefit of the record.
you on the line?
AUDIENCE: Who are
COMMISSIONER RAPER:
you speaking to?
The person who just
unmuted, which must bewas told that their line was being
you.
AUDIENCE: Okay, so my name is David
Schaibl-e and --
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Can you
last name, please?
AUDIENCE: S-c-h-a-i-b-1-e.
spe11 your
Okay, I live
at 6168 N. Mount Carrol Street, Dalton Gardens, Idaho,
83815.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Are you a customer of
Avista?25
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208 .8 90 . 5198
6 SCHAIBLE
Public
AUDIENCE: A customer, y€S.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: And if I could swear
you r-n.
appearj-ng as
was examined
DAVID SCHA]BLE,
a public witness, having been duly sworn,
and testif ied as f o1l-ows:
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Okay, go ahead and
provide your testimony, please.
THE I/'IITNESS: Okay, I received the rate
increase info on JuIy L2th, '2L on a
three-and-five-eighths by an eight-and-a-half-inch sheet
of paper with my billing statement, and my interpretation
of it is it's going to use an average monthly usage for a
year for 63 therms and it does not state the starting
date for computing the average. Nobody knows what month
that they're going to start with, okay?
And Avista doesn't say the deadl-ine for
submitting comments and the Idaho Public Utilities
Commission will decide to accept or reject Avista's
proposal, so therers no deadli-ne. How shoul-d the public
come up with timely and meaningful comments? How many
years has Avista been in business and this is the best
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forthcoming in plain language.
I say reject the proposal and make Avista
redo it and if the Idaho Public Utilities Commissi-on can
come up with a copy of what Avista sent out with the
billing statements, I think it would probably agree with
the lack of information and that l-eads to deceit and
deceit leads to in my opinlon a form of corruption.
That's it.
COMMISSIONBR RAPER: Okay, thank you for
your testimony, sir. It is the Commi-ssion's
responsibility to generally the Commissioners don't
respond directly to questions posed by the public in
these proceedings, but as far as the schedule goes, I
wil-I respond to that. It is the Commlssion's
responsibility to set the schedule. Those are things
that are availabl-e on our website and.I can tel-l- you that
the prefiled testimony for the parties is due by July
19th and that will be availabl-e to be viewed on our
website when it's fil-ed.
Publ-ic comments are due by August 3rd and
there will be a technical hearing in the case with the
parties that begins on August 2nd and goes into August
3rd, if need be, and usually f cover those dates at the
end of the hearing, but based on some of your concerns, I
thought that it would be best to address them now, so in
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208.890. s198
SCHAIBLE
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208.890.5198
B SCHAIBLE
Public
addition to
the record,
through the
any testimony
if you'd l-ike
website, then
that you're providing here for
to also submit public comments
you are more than welcome to do
so. Thank you for
THE
have Internet.
your testimony
WITNESS: Donrt have Internet. Donrt
COMMISSIONER RAPER: They can al-so be sent
through the maj-I
THE WITNESS: So now this phone testimony,
does that count for anything?
COMMISSIONER RAPER:Yes, it will become
part
will-
makes
of the public record in the case and the Commission
consider it with the rest of the record when it
its f inal- decision.
THE WITNESS: But my question is, is how
many people are out there, customers 1i-ke me, that sit
there reading this and wondering rea11y what's going on
and not knowing all the facts, so Avista has been in
business how many years and they can't do any better than
this piece of paper? I think thatrs ridicul-ous and an
insult to the public. Thatrs all Irve got to say.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Okay, I hear you.
We've got it on the record now and thank you for your
testJ-mony.
THE WITNESS: Okay.25
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(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Currently there is
nobody el-se on the l-j-ne that has indicated that they wish
to testify. Again, if you wish to testify, press star
three. It will raise your hand with my technical- help
and j-t will indicate to him that you wish to testify.
Because we've only had one person testify and it is just
now about a quarter after 7:00 Mountain Time, a quarter
after 6:00 Pacj-fic Time, we'11 go off the record for
about five minutes, Iet anyone else who wishes to call j-n
to testify have that opportunity, and when we come back
on the record if nobody else indicates that they wish to
testify, then we will- close the hearing record for the
evening, so five-minute pause. Thank you.
(Recess. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: It is now 1:20
Mountain Time, 6:20 Pacific. Werre going to go back on
the record and I'm going to ask one more time for any
pubJ-ic testimony. If you're on the phone and you wish to
provide public testimony for the record tonight, please
press star three on your phone to indicate that you would
like to testify. Okay, no customers have appeared.
Nobody is raising their hand, so at this point it is
appropriate to end the hearing. I will reiterate that
prefiled testimony is due by the parties on JuIy 19th.
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Pub1ic comments are due by August 3rd. A technical
hearing wiJ.I commence on August 2nd and go into August
3rd, if necessary, and with that, this public hearing is
adjourned.
(The Telephonic Hearing adjourned at 7:22 p.m.)
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208.890.5198
AUTHENTICATTON
This is to certify that the foregoing
telephonic proceedings held in the matter of the
application 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, commencing at 7:00 p.m.r orr Vfednesday,
July 1-4, 2021, dt the Commissj-on Hearing Room, 11331 West
Chinden B1vd., Building 8, Suite 201--A, Boise, Idaho, is
a true and correct transcript of said proceedings and the
original thereof for the file of the Commission.
CONSTANCE S. BUCYCertified Shorthand Reporter
@NSTAI{CESBrcY
}IOTARY PUU"IC. 8TA1E OF IDATO
cotmE$oN I{JIEER 12385
rY @ullrEloll EXHRES $S2024
25
11 AUTHENTICATION