20180322Public Hearing Transcript Vol II.pdf

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ORIGINAL CSB REPORTING
C e rtifrc d S h o rth an d Rep o rt e r s
Post Office Box9774
Boise,Idaho 83707
csbreportine@heritagewifi . com
Ph: 208-890-5198 Fa:r: l-888-623-6899
Reporter:
Constance B*"y,
CSR
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN THE MATTER OF THE APPLICATION
OF IDAHO POWER COMPANY EOR
AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH NETf,
SCHEDULES FOR RESIDENTIAL AND
SMALL GENERAL SERVICE CUSTOMERS
WITH ON.SITE GENERATION
cAsE NO. rPC-E-17-13
BEFORE
COMMISSIONER KRISTINE RAPER (Presiding)
COMMISSTONER PAUL KJELLANDER
COMMISSIONER ERIC ANDERSON
PLACE:PocateLlo City Councj-1 Chambers
911 North 7th AvenuePocatello, Idaho
DATE:March 5, 20LB
VOLUME II Pages 87 159
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CSB REPORTING
{208) 890-s198
APPEARANCES
For the Staff:Sean CostelLo
Deputy Attorney General
472 West Washington
PO Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83720-0074
For Idaho Power Company:Lisa D. Nordstrom
Idaho Power Company
L22l West Idaho Street
PO Box 70Boise, Idaho 83707-0070
Eor Idaho frrigation
Pumpers Association:
Eric L. Olsen
Echo Hawk & Olsen PLLC
505 Pershing Avenue
Suite 100
PO Box 6779Pocatello, Idaho 83205
For Snake River Alliance:Beatrice Brai].sford
Program Director
PO Box 425Pocatello, Idaho 83204
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APPEARANCES
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CSB REPORT]NG(208) 890-s198
INDEX
WITNESS EXAMINATION BY PAGE
Sue Skinner
( Public)
Statement 91
LeRoy Phillips
( Public)
Statement 94
Muriel- Roberts
( Public)
Statement 95
Craig Rutledge
( Public)
Statement 9B
Jacob Andersen
( Public)
Statement 101
Mike Larki-n
( PubIic)
Statement 105
Shannon Ansley
( PubIic)
Statement 701
Roger Turner
( Public)
Statement 110
Mike Engle
( Public)
Statement Lt2
Linda Engle
( Public )
Statement Lt6
Melody Asher
( Public)
Statement 119
Michael- McBride
(Publ-ic)
Stat.ement L2t
Paul Hancock
( Public)
Statement 124
Sean Bartschi
( Public)
728Statement
a 25
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(208 ) 890-s198
INDEX (Continued)
WITNESS EXAYITNATION BY PAGE
Mary McAleese
( PubIic)
Statement 135
Peter Joyce
( PubIic )
Statement 137
Liana Litzsinger
( PubIic)
Statement ]-4L
Richard Feuerborn
( PubIic)
Statement 145
Chris Cushing
( PubIic)
Statement 146
Luke Nelson
( PubIic)
Statement 151
Kay Ann Ffowers
( PubIic)
Statement 1s3
David Gates
(Publ-ic)
Statement 155
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]NDEX
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pocATELLO, TDAHO, MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2078, 7:00 p. M
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Good evening, ladies
and gentlemen. Thank you all for coming. This is the
today is Monday, March sth. This is the time and place
set for the second of two public hearings before the
Idaho Publ-ic Utilities Commission regardi-ng Case No.
IPC-E-17-13. It is further identlfied as in the matter
of the application of Idaho Power Company for authority
to establish new schedules for resi-dential and smal1
general service customers with on-site generation. f'm
Commissioner Kristine Raper. To my left j-s now
Commissioner Eric Anderson, and to my right is
Commissioner Paul Kjellander. We comprise the Public
Utilities Commission and we wil-l make the final decision
with regard to this matter.
We're here to take public comment from
customers regarding Idaho Powerrs application for
authority to establish new schedul-es for their
resj-dential and small general service customers with
on-site generation. I have a list in front of me that
you aI1 have been signing into as you come in. I will
call the names of the people who have signed up to
testify, and if you'Il come forward to the podium when I
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CSB REPORTI
caII your name, Commissioner Kjellander will swear you in
and then our Deputy Attorney General- Sean Costello, PUC's
attorney, will ask you to answer a few formal- questions
regarding name, address, and whether you're a customer of
the util-ity before you begln your testi-mony.
The Commissionrs decision in this case has
to be based upon substantial and competent evidence in
the record, which 1s why all of our proceedings are
transcribed by a court reporter and avaj-lable for public
inspection. Our court reporter tonight is Connie Bucy.
lrle're having some issues with the microphones and sound
system which is why we moved the podium to where we did,
so you are speaking to the Commissioners. We are your
audience tonight, but you're close to Connie so that she
can hear you and get everythinq down to be a part of the
public record in this case.
Connie is wonderful at what she does.
She's done this for a l-ot of years for us. I see a lot
of you have papers j-n front of you, marvel-ous. I'm happy
that you brought with you what it is that you want to
say. It is our experience that when you have prepared
statements that you're readj-ng that you speak faster than
when you're just speaking in general, so if you'll keep
it at a moderate pace so that Connie can keep up. She
will certainly tell you to sl-ow down if she needs to, andI25
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if yourre willing when
testimony and you have
willing to provide that
record, then it helps
everything she needs
you're done with your public
your
to
papers in
us to keep
hand, if you're
that as part of the
that she getsConnie make sure
to in order to have a whole record.
So a couple of housekeeping matters. This
is a wel-l--attended event, which we are thrilled for.
We're happy to have public input into our hearings in the
proceedings that are going on. It is, however, not a
political raIly or a sporting event, so if you will
please from refrain clapping and cheering, you can high
fj-ve people after we have adjourned the hearing for the
evening. That would be greatly appreciated. Courtroom
decorum is expected for these proceedings.
We also have a lot of people who have
signed up to testify already. Some people who have
prepared are very eloquent in the way that they say
things. Don't let that deter you from coming up to the
podj-um and just saying what it is that you have to say.
It's okay that you don't have prepared statements. We
want to hear everything that everyone wants to say this
evening. If someone has said largely that you would
otherwise want to convey to us, then also feel free to
stand up and say I think it's covered and I can submit
mine as a written statement for the record through the25
(208 ) 890-s198
89 COLLOQUY
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CSB REPORTING(208) 890-s198
website, so werre happy with any of the alternatives.
We can take appearances from the parties
and then al1ow anyone who wishes to testify. Some of the
parties are here this evening. Let them identify
themselves so you know who they are. Theyrre not
testifying. Just the public is testifying at this
hearing. We just always take appearances of the parties
in these types of events, so Idaho Power.
MS. NORDSTROM: Yes, good evening. I'm
Lisa Nordstrom here for Idaho Power.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Commission Staff.
MR. COSTELLO: I'm Sean Costello. I
represent the Commission Staff.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Idahydro, and it's
okay if theyrre not here. They don't get demerlts or
anything. They'11 be part of the technical hearing l-ater
this week. Idaho Irrigation Pumpers Association.
MR. OLSEN: Yes, Eric Olsen, Idaho
Irrigation Pumpers Associatj-on.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, Eric.
Idaho Conservatj-on League. Auric LLC. Sierra C1ub.
City of Boise. Idaho Clean Energy Association. Vote
So1ar. Snake River Alliance and NW Energy Coal-ition.
MS. BRAILSFORD: Snake River Allianee,
Beatrice Brailsford.o 25
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REPORTING
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Intermountain Wind
and So1ar. Okay; so with that, I wil-I call the first
Skinner. Thank you.public testifier, Sue
SUE SKINNER,
appearing as a publlc witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your name and spell
your last name for the record?
A Sue Skinner and it's P.O. Box 4024,
Pocatello, Idaho, 83205.
O And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
A Iam.
O Please go ahead with your statement.
A Okay. First of aII, I wou1d l-ike to thank
the Commj-ssion for hosting this hearing in eastern Idaho.
It's great to see you guys out here so that we can have a
voj-ce directly with you. VrIe real1y appreciate that. I
do not agree that Idaho Power has provided the Commission
enough facts and data to make an adequate decision. I do
support smart j-nverters as a standard for solar
SKINNER
PubIic
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CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 890-s198
residential customers. I do support distributed
generation versus o1d thinking of industrlal 1evel power
plants or sources.
Anything to discourage residentj-al sofar
use and net metering goes against the future of our great
state. Clean energy is what keeps Idaho's air pure,
keeps us out of wars, and allows each of us to do our
part as individuals. Those of us who want to do our part
to keep our air clean and protect salmon from more dams
and protect our wil-d rivers, look at residential sol-ar as
a way to help add electricity to the grid. It al-so
fulfills a dream of independence and doing our part.
Idaho Power should be partnering with
residents as other states and utilities have done to
ensure that growth in Idaho continues in a smart way.
The solar energy industry is exactly the kind of
entrepreneurial- industry and spirit that Idaho needs. For
example, Pocatell-o has a new development vision cal-l-ed
Northgate. Instead of looking at it as an energy drain
of the current grid, Idaho Power along with loca1
planning and zoning and city governments shouLd be
partnering on solar to include incentives for rooftop or
neighborhood solar installations to ensure the
development is adding electricity to the grid. It is
subdivision as a pod of el-ectricity.thinking about every
SKINNER
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CSB REPORTING(208) 890-s198
It is looking at the residents as energy available to the
grid while keeping the homeowner's own costs down.
Net meterlng is essential- to this
i-ndependent dream of home ownership that contributes to
all of us as a whol-e. It protects quality of life for
all of us. The entrepreneurs are working on solar
paving, driveways, paints, and roofing material-s as well
as enhanced batterj-es. By taking away the net metering
incentive, these new and emerging technol-ogies are
crushed. These are the kinds of jobs that matter in
Idaho and they matter to me
fn researching this issue, it appears that
nationally utility lobbyists have joined together on a
policy detrimental to the solar industry. The cover of
the utility lobby as a whole seems to be driving this
whole issue. What is missing is specific data for Idaho
as to infrastructure costs, not on a statewide basis, but
on a localized residential basis. This 1s what the
Commission and the current residential solar customers
need to know before a decision is made.
Solar benefits fdaho. Idaho should
promote solar
see sol-ar as
jobs and installations.
an asset versus a drain on the system.
the solar dream and solar jobs alive and thank you
this opportunity.
Idaho Power should
Keep
for
SKINNERPublic
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CSB REPORTING(208) 890-s198
PHILLI PS
Public
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Next is LeRoy
Phil1ips.
LEROY PHILLIPS,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
0 Would you please state your ful1 name and
spe1I your l-ast name for the record?
A My name is LeRoy Phil1ips,
P-h-i-1-1-i-p-s .
O And what is your residence address?
A I live at 2429 Shannon Drive in American
Fa11s, 832LL.
O And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
A Yes, sir.
O Please go ahead with your statement.
A I'd l-ike to thank the Commi-ssion for
having this event here tonight. I got this on short
notj-cer so I'11 try to say this as brief as what I can.I 25
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CSB REPORTING(208) 890-s198
I installed my solar system here a couple of years ago
and my first system that I put in, that was enough to
justify and bal-ance what I was getting for power. My
power bills were outrageous. I couldnrt afford them and
I was killing slow1y dying. This year I instal-l-ed an
additional set of power panels to bal-ance and offset for
the 2017 year.
So far this year, Irve done really weII.
I'm not in debt no more thanks to Idaho Power and being
able to afford to get into this system. I don't believe
that they need to make any changes at present, unless
they can fu1ly make sure that they justify why they want
to do this. To me, right now the system is working just
fine and it's helped me completely and thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you very much.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Muriel Roberts.
PHILLIP
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CSB REPORTING
[phone]
MURIEL ROBERTS,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your fu1l name and
spel1 your last name?
A Muriel Roberts, R-o-b-e-r-t-s.
O And what is your residence address?
A 541 7/2 South 19th Avenue, Pocatello,
Idaho.
O Thanks, and are you a customer of Idaho
Power?
A Yes.
O Please go ahead with your statement.
A Thank you. Thank you, Commissioners, for
the opportunity to speak. I am here representing the
League of Women Voters of Idaho and I have a statement
from the president of the Idaho League. The League of
Women Voters of Idaho requests that you deny Idaho Power
Company's petition to cl-ose Schedule 84 and to segregate
customers with distributed energy systems. Rather, we
request that you order the Company to determine the
ROBERTS
Public
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BRE RTI G ROBERTS
PubIic
actual long-term costs and benefits of customer owner
distributed generation. We believe creating a separate
rate class, which under the Company's assumptions is
11keIy
policy
counter
League
to be punitive, runs counter to state energy
and other public policy objectives. It runs
to League of Women Voters of Idaho and national
posJ-tions on energy.
The League of Women Voters of Idaho is a
statewi-de, nonpartisan organization that studies an j-ssue
and comes to consensus before adopting a position. The
state League and the national organization
positions that
and funding to
greenhouse gas
efflciency and
support policy,
attai-n clean air
emissions, and to
legislation,
standards,
increase
have adopted
regulation,
to reduce
energy
reliance on renewabl-e energy resources.
Regulated utilities should act and be
regulated in the public interest. The League --: in the
League's studied opinion, it is in the pub11c interest to
transition away from polluting carbon-emitting sources of
energy to renewable energy resources. Please require the
largest utility in our state to give customers a viable
option of how some of their and the utility's electricity
generation needs will- be met. Distributed generati-on 1s
Iike1y to be a larger part of the energy future. Idaho
Power Company is innovative in developing solutions ino25
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CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 890-s1-98
RUTLEDGE
Public
other aspects of its business and can be innovative in
nurturing distributed generation as part of the fuel- mix
Thank you. This is from Sue Ripley,
President of the League of Women Voters of Idaho.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you very much.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: I'm going to butcher
a few names here. Craig Rutledge.
CRAIG RUTLEDGE,
appearJ-ng as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your
spe1I your last name for the record?
A Yes, Craig Rutledge, spelled
R-u-t-1-e-d-g-e.
O And
A 758
83202.
your residence address?
Cal1ie Street in Chubbuck, Idaho,
O And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
A Yes, I am
fu1l name and
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CSB REPORTING(208) 890-s198
O Pl-ease go ahead.
A Okay. I'd like to thank you for the
opportunity to be herer so the challenge in deciding
whether the current net metering sj-tuation is suffj-cient
or not is that there hasn't been adequate cost-benefit
analysis
surface,
conducted for our particular market. On the
I feel itrs easy to justify a new classification
for customers who have on-site power generation. The
and especially here in our region, isproblem,
that this is a much deeper j-ssue than just money j-n and
money out.
A majority of power generated in southern
Idaho is considered clean energy; hydroelectric, wind-
and sol-ar-generated. fdaho is a relatively rural area,
especj-a1ly compared to states that I've lived in, and we
care for our environment and the nature that surrounds
us. One must take i-nto account the incentives of clean
energy and how removing those i-ncentives wj-l-I impact the
envJ-ronment, the community, and the regional job market.
A Nevada utility group chose to reduce net
metering payments a couple of years ago and that drastic
reduction caused the state's three largest providers of
rooftop sol-ar to pull out of the market entirely. This
caused new installation permits to plunge by 92 percent
in the first quarter of 2076. For a bl-ooming market like
however,
RUTLE E
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CSB REPORTIN
ours, which is just breaking into the residential solar
market and on the verge of massive expansj-ons, it would
be a poor decision to destroy one of the prj-mary
incentives for clean energy. The problem with this
proposition specifically is therers no proposed Limit on
the changes that can be made to net metering rates. We
could be looking anywhere from a five percent decrease or
we could be looking at a 60 percent decrease and see the
same resul-ts as Nevada and lose a val-uable job market.
ft took for me one Google search to find
over t4 dj-fferent studies conducted by reputable entities
that support the stance of current net metering programs.
Ranging from Vermontrs Public Service Department to the
Nevada Pub1ic Utilities Commission, from the Lawrence
Berkeley National Lab to Environment Research and Policy
Center and every single one of these reviews shows that
net metering benefits not onJ-y those with so1ar, but aII
consumers. Every one of these studies show that
residential solar energy and net metering is, at a
as what is paid for commercj-al
the true worth of this clean
minimum, worth the same
power, but in many cases
energy
three
is many more times than that, sometimes two to
times the va1ue.
This information is out there to learn
from and it isn't difficult for us to find it. I'm not
RUTLEDGE
Public
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CSB RE
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g ANDERSEN
Public
saying Idaho Power is in the wrong for wantlng to update
the electrical system and how this is calculated. I am
saying that due diligence must be paid and that these
changes need to be researched and supported by fact and
evj-dence, not just because it seems to be unfair on one
particular point. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: It's my grammar, not
your penmanship, Jacob Andersen.
JACOB ANDERSEN,
appearing as a public wj-tness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Please state your fuII name and spell your
Iast name for the record.
Jacob Andersen, A-n*d-e-r-s-e-nA
o
A
o
Anthony
And your residence address?
1170 Lusk Loop, Arbon, Idaho, 832t2.
Thank you, and are you a customer of Idaho
Power?25
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(208 ) 890-s198
A f am.
O Please go ahead.
A First of al-I, thank you for all-owing us to
voice our opi-nions and our thoughts on this matter. Irm
an Idaho Power customer and I installed solar power a
couple of years ago. f have a couple of concerns that I
would like to speak to today. One is Irve installed
power, and I think other people have as well, where
instead of installing for me and my parents installing
for themselves, we put one system up, but you're only
aI]owed to transfer withi-n the same rate class. I don't
see anything in here, unless I missed it, that addresses
once they separate the classes the ability to transfer
from the power generating to just a residential next
door, which would be difficult for those who planned on
transferring it to save on two costs and two separate
installations.
The second item I would like to bring up
is as a business owner, f understand the desj-re to raise
rates, because as you raise rates, you increase the
profits and when you increase profits on a cl-j-entele
that's unable to refuse your product, you only make more
money. It makes sense, but unfortunately, they're
regulated by the Idaho Pub1ic Utilities Commission and
decisj-ons by the Commission need to be based on evidence,
ANDERSEN
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Publ-ic
determining whether or not a new
rate class should be created, so why wasn't this
presented, and if decisions need to be based on evidence,
why should be this considered?
Nextr we have to think rationally about
the benefits that net metering brings to us as a
community. Idaho Power has to think about thelr profi-ts,
but the Utilities Commission has to think about the
and unfortunately, I didn't see anything that justified
a cost of service study. To
need to keep Idaho
we should deny every
with what I s best for
this change. I didn't
il€, that's step one of
see
we need to balance it
public good, which, of course, we
Power in business. It's not that
request, but
the customer,
power when there's the
here in southeast Idaho.
solar power, we're at the
with no substation for mi-Ies
power at
Iine for
the end of a l-ine feeds
other people. It
highest demand for
the peopJ-e
So with my very
andend of a
miles and
back and
provides
very Iong l-j-ne
so generating
stabilizes the
when air conditioning is going on in the summer or
power,
when
heat pumps are running in the wintertime. It provides
power when it's needed the most.
We hear a 1ot about how the majority of
Idaho Power's power comes from hydroelectric, which is
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REPORTING
meeting,
from coal
it looks l-ike 25 percent of the power does come
and over 10 percent comes from natural gas and
reasoni-ng behind especially
to become
l_n
that in Pocatel-lo and Idaho Falls and
diesel,
natural-
and I understand the
gas and diesel, but a significant amount does
Power needs to addresscome from coalr so while Idaho
their revenues and their profitability, there are certain
things as members of the public we need to take j-nto
account beyond just profits, and one of those is the
environmental- costs.
Yourve heard about that a little bit
today. fdaho
we don't want
Power is not 100 percent clean energy and
even sma1I Logan, that
Iike our neighbors in the south,
has to deal with pollution or
further in Salt Lake Valley or Utah Va1ley. We're seeing
areas that don't need it and wesmog more and more
don't want to see
Boise. There's a real environmental cost that we all pay
when we make a decision not to use cl-ean energy.
Second is the economic cost. There are a
Iot of solar or alternatj-ve energy companies that make
money through these installations and they pay employees
and the employees buy products and it benefits the
economy. On the other end, there are those of us who
have insta11ed power and save money every month on our
power bit1, which we spend money here in the communities
DERSEN
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CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 890-s198
5 LARK]N
PubIic
and, again, it benefits us economically.
those costs,
equation, buL
believe that they're
so I askCommission,
an additional- rate schedule.
Andersen.
appearJ-ng as a public witness,
sworn, testif ied as fol1ows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
spelJ- your
the util-ities, they don't need to pay
don't have to put those in the
do need to pay that and that's why I
regulat.ed by the Public Utilities
you to reject their request to add
Now,
so they
we all
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, Mr
(The wj-tness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Mike Larkin.
MIKE LARKIN,
having been first duly
O ttilould you please state your full name and
l-ast name for the record?
A Mike Larkj-n, L-a-r-k-i-n.
O And your residence address?
A Pardon?
O Your residence address? Your home25
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address ?
7505 West Portneuf Road, Pocatello.
And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
fam
O Please go ahead.
A My concerns with Idaho Power's proposed
changes hinge largely on the unknowns. I install-ed a
4.4 kW solar system last June. So far it's produced more
power than I've used, but it's only cost effective
because of net metering and the low monthly charge. At
the same time, I think paying more than $5.19 per mont.h
to be hooked to the grid is certainly reasonable. My
concern is that I don't trust Idaho Power to come up with
a fair monthly charge.
I would prefer to see an independent study
of the costs and the benefits of residential solar and
have them recommend a fair monthly charge based on the
size and l-ocation of the system. Someone with a 3 kW
solar system should not have to pay as much as somebody
with a 10 kW sol-ar system. In the big picture, I think
Idaho Power should be moving away from coal-burning power
plants and moving towards renewable energy and not trying
to punish people for doing the right thing.
I hope you decline their application at
this time. In the future when 10 percent or more of the
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LARKIN
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SHANNON ANS],EY,
appearing as a public wi-tness, having been first duly
sworn, testj-fied as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
people are
think it's
o
spel1 your last
A
o
A
o
A
o
A
testimony this
residence address?
on solar power or renewable power, then I
time to start making a change. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, sir.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Shannon Ansley.
Would you please state your ful-l name and
name for the record?
Shannon Ansley, A-n-s-l--e-y.
And
424
your
South 7th Avenue, Pocatel-lo.
And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
Yes, I am.
Please go ahead.
Thank you. Thank you for hearing our
evening, appreciate it. As a private
citizen and future residential- sol-ar and net metering
customer, I am against the fdaho Power proposal- to close25
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CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 890-s198
rate Schedule 84.
How the
Wake up call No. 1:
Northridge earthquake
hours to my home here
Idaho Power proposal affects me?
clearly remember when the 7994
in California cut power for three
in Pocatello.
r
outage was relatlvely short-lived and
medical needs that required power for
in my home at the time.
Fortunately, the
I had no critical
the people living
Vf,ake up call No. 2z Tn 2009, the fdaho
Bureau of Homeland Security and the Idaho Geological
Survey published a handbook titled, "Putting Down Roots
in Earthquake Country" and I have an example that f will
also submit, which provides guidance on how we can
protect ourselves and our famj-l-ies before, during, and
after a significant seismj-c event. The guidance also
j-nstructs Idahoans to prepare themselves in the event
that we l-ose critical services, like power, for extended
periods of time.
My self-reliance, my energy choj-ce, and
fair treatment by Idaho Power will be negati-vely affected
by a decision to a1low Idaho Power to destroy the
residential sol-ar industry in ldaho. I should be able to
choose energy safety, security, and reliability for my
family, not the utility. I want a sustaining energy
option in the event of an emergency that resul-ts in a
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power outage or gri-d interruption. I know that the
battery storage of solar-generated power is the best
long-term option for energy preparedness; however,
destroying the residentj-al sol-ar industry and eliminating
energy production options for ldaho citizens 1s a huge
disservice to me and to other independent-minded
Idahoans.
As you know, many people in this state
value independence, personal choice, and l-ess
interference by government and big busj-ness. If Idaho
Power succeeds in destroying the resj-dential- solar
industry in Idaho, then they will rob me of my energy
independence and increase the costs of energy security to
me and to an Idaho population who strongly values
emergency preparedness .
Public utility lobbying against rooftop
sol-ar is a challenge to my personal autonomy. State
policy shoul-d support customer choice, and in closi-ng, I
respectfully request that the Commission reject the Idaho
Power proposal to close the net metering rate Schedule
84. Thank you very much.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you. Roger
Turner.
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CSB REP
ROGER TURNER,
appearing as a public wj-tness, having been first duly
sworn, testif ied as fol1ows:
THE V'IITNESS: Roger Turner, 307 North
Buchanan Avenue, Pocatello, Idaho.
MR. COSTELLO: Thank you.
THE VfITNESS: First of all, f 'd I1ke the
thank the Commission for coming to Pocatello for this
hearing. It's great to see the great participation, so I
think it made your trip worthwhile. Regarding net
meteri-ng, I support renewable energy efforts and solar
power initiatives, and so I object to the fdaho Power's
proposal to change the net metering classificatj-on and
power rates, Schedule 84, by increasing the tariff to new
solar customers.
The tarlff proposed by Idaho Power will-
discourage new solar installation in the state. In a
similar manner, the change from 2O-year contracts to
t.wo-year ones will further discourage the solar industry
as it adds an uncertainty to the break-even date for
costs to homeowners. This shortened contract proposed by
the power utilities may almost completely stop owner
instal-lation of solar enerqy, because it would increase
the payback period as well as reduce the value of homeso
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CSB REPORTIN
with solar systems.
The IPUC Staff analysis showed that net
metered and non-net metered customers have very similar
consumption patterns. There appears to be no
justification for increasing the rates for net metered
customers.
The proposed increase to solar users would
stifle solar technol-ogy and the high-tech jobs associated
with them, and this is contrary to the Idaho Department
of Commerce goals that include: Building the economy by
attracting new busj-nesses to the state; and cultivating
the development of new businesses and job opportunities
across all j-ndustry sectors.
According to the most recent NationaT
SoTar Jobs Census published by The Sol-ar Foundation, the
industry creates more jobs than any other sector in the
U.S. According to a new report from the U.S. Department
of Energy, solar power employed 43 percent of the
electrical power generation sector's workforce in 2016,
while fossil fuels combined accounted for just 22
percent.
The IPUC should be encouraging these
alternative energy, progressive innovation and job
creation in the state. Many businesses and individuals
revj-ew a state's efforts to promote such efforts before
TURNER
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(208 ) 890-s198
locating in the state. In suilrmary, please reject the
proposed increase in rate tariffs to sol-ar users and
please reject the change from 2l-year contracts to two.
Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Mike EngJ-e.
MIKE ENGLE,
appearing as a public wj-tness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATTON
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your fuII name and
speI1 your last name for the record?
A Itrs Michael William Engle, E-n-g-I-e.
O Thank you, and your residence address?
It's 340 South 11th Avenue, Pocate1lo.
And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
Yes, I am.
Please go ahead.
A
o
A
a
A
you for this
Thank you. I'd Iike to start by
public hearing and the opportunity
thanking
to speak,
LE
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BRE TING
for all of us to speak. In t.he interest of being
efficient with my time and yours, f am going to read a
prepared statement. I'm sorry for that. I am an Idaho
resident and homeowner who is interested in installing
solar and I've lived here since 1991. I also just want
to give you a little background on myself. I have a
master's in physics. I recently concluded a career in
the semiconductor industry as director of technology
development for AMI and ON Semiconductors.
Currently, I have a consul-ting busj-ness,
Critical Sol-utions LLC, and Irm also a member of the
Portneuf Resource Council here in southeast Idaho. I'm
here today to discuss three things with the PUC: First
is a request to reject Idaho Power's request to create a
new class customer for customers with distributed energy
systems, like solar PV. I believe Idaho Power has not
provided enough anal-ysis from a cost-benefit point of
view.
Second, I do support Idaho Power's request
to require smart inverters for solar PV installations.
This is necessary for the future reliability of the grid
and j-s becomlng industry standard practice anyway.
And then third, I recommend that the PUC
request Idaho Power work with affected stakeholders and
perform a cost-beneflt analysis of customer-owned
ENGLE
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CSB RE
(208)
TING
distributed energy systems
to customer classifications
before requesting any
or rate structures.
changes
There is
than just the
distribution for Idaho Power.
ample evidence that
systems exceed more
the value of
the additional
these distributed energy
avoided costs of power
Any proposal
data driven. The key point
to move forward should be
l_s
decisions or changes regarding
before making any
customer-owned distributed
costs to Idaho Power andenergy systems,
the value to the grid and electrical distribution system
should be studied and quantified, and that an analys j-s
rather thanshould use an IRP, integrated resource plan,
a cost of service-type analysis.
The reasons that I'm asking the PUC to
representing l-ocaltake these actions, first is I'm
Pocatello interests in kickj-ng
southeast Idaho. It would be a
the ones that were
off a Solarize
very similar
just completed
campaign in
Solari ze
l-n the
Very
in 2016
solar
campaign as
Boi-se area
briefly,
and 2017
that you're probably familiar with.
the Boise Solarize the Val-Iey campaigns
install-ed more than $2 million worth of
systems amounting to about 700 kil-owatts of power
generation and with more than 100 households j-nstalling
solar over a two-year period.
Our Solarize project right now is on hold
ENGLE
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REPORT]NG ENGLE
Publ-ic
pending t.he outcome of the decisions before the PUC. We
cannot proceed unti-I we know what Idaho Power wil-l- do
moving forward in net metering. The current net metering
poli-cies have allowed for successful Solarize projects j-n
Iocal communities as in Boise. While some changes to t'he
net metering policies could stil-I
to proceed, others could resul-t in
V{ithout specifics, there's too much
Sol-arize campaign today here in
And then second,
personally interested in energy
believe it is the right of all
goal.
al-Iow Solarj-ze projects
a huge
ris k
dislncentive.
to launch a
southeast Idaho.
as a homeowner, Itm
independence and I
Idahoans to pursue this
And third, Idaho Power currently
$5.00 per month for net metering to stay on the
Idaho Power shoul-d be
charges
grid.
price for
Power andhowever,
allowed to charge a fair
what's fair to both Idahogrid access;
i-ts customers of transparent and
The process shoul-d bedata-drj-ven cost-benefit anal-ysis.
fair to all-.
In sunrmary, please reject Idaho Power's
proposal to create a new class of customers who use
distributed energy systems; have a data-driven
cost-benefit analysis performed that results in fair and
equitable policy; and moving forward with a smart
should be the resul-t
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CSB RTTNG
inverter requirement is good for all stakeholders; and
then, please, if
because we would
sout.heast Idaho.
you
1i ke
can, make these decisions quickly
to get Solarize kicked off in
Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER:
(The wltness l-eft the
COMMISS]ONER RAPER:
Thank you very much.
stand. )
Linda Engle.
LINDA ENGLE,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testlfied as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Pl-ease state your ful-l- name and speJ-l your
last name for the record.
Linda Engle, E-n-g-1-e.
What is your residence address?
340 South 1lth Avenue, Pocatello, Idaho,
8320L.
O And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
Yes.
Please go ahead.
So I'm a homeowner and I al-so would like
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(208 ) 890-s198
EN
to put solar onto my roof just to tell you right up front
and --
COMMISSIONER RAPER: I'm sorry, some
people asked if you could speak up.
THE WITNESS: Oh, yes. I am for keeping
the current net meteri-ng policy and against segregatlng
net metered customers.
Currently, Irm taking a graduate l-eve1
class through Portland State University on energy pollcy,
and I had to write a paper for that, I have to write a
paper, and so I'm doing some research on that and I
discovered something wonderful about what the Public
Utilities Commission has done and that is that we have a
very good decoupling policy, specifically the fixed cost
adjustment policy, and it's because of decoupling that
customers have an incentive to be energy efficient and
reducing the amount of el-ectricity that they buy
without does not hurt Idaho Power's revenues or
profits, so that's really wonderful- and because of
decoupling, when Idaho Power sell-s less electricity, they
can stil1 cover all of their expenses while maintaining a
robust rate of return for their investors.
So here's the point: Whether a homeowner
decreases the energy that they buy through conservation
or installing solar power, it all looks the same to Idaho25
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890-s198
Power. Thelr sales go down. Decoupling cuts the
connection between the number of kilowatts sold and Idaho
Power's ability to pay for their cost of doing business.
Ird Iike to thank the Publ-ic Utilities
Commission for enacting the fixed cost adjustment
decoupling Ln 2007. Through my research, I found that
last year in fact that Idaho was recognized by the
American Council for an Ene::gy Efficient Economy for
recent improvements in energy savings policies. Irile moved
up in their ranking.
Because Idaho already has the fixed cost
adjustment decoupling in p1ace, there is no need for
fdaho Power to segregate net rnetered customers; the
decoupling takes care of the lowered kilowatt sales.
Secondly, for eight years decouplj-ng has
worked right alongsj-de net metering, enabling Idaho Power
to meet its financial- obligations for fixed costs and
profits. Current raLes are fair. There is no cause to
end the net metering policy, and thank you for your tj-me.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(the witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Melody Asher.
ENGLE
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ING ASHER
Public
MELODY ASHER,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your full- name and
spell your last name for the record?
A Melody Asher, A-s-h-e-r, 2502 Laurie,
L-a-u-r-i--e, Lane, Twin Fal1s, Idaho, 83301.
O And you are a customer of Idaho Power?
A Yes, I have two ldaho Power bills, because
I have an irrigation pump, too.
O All ri-ght, please go ahead.
A Hi. Thank you for letting us come talk to
you today. [rile're currently in the process of spending
many thousands of doll-ars to put rooftop solar panels on
our house. It's a huge, huge commitment and investment
for us. The cost of our project has already gone up
because of the new tariff put on solar panels, even
though our solar panels were made i-n Canada, not China.
We're investing this money because we feel
it is the right thing to do. It is part of our effort to
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65 years o1d and I can teII in the last
climate has changed a lot, so it's
to do this.
would sincerel-y like the installation of
our sofar panels and related hardware to eventual-ly pay
and net
this. I'm a]most
30 years that the
realIy important
I
off monetarily as well as
metering is necessary to
worthwhile for others as
environmentally
that goal, and we
well as ourselves
want it to be
who would like
to produce solar power on their homes.
So I am opposed to and would ask you the
Pubtic Utilities Commissj-on to deny Idaho Power's request
to create a new customer class for rooftop solar
producers and thereby keep solar power affordable for
other people in the future.
I think it j-s also important for Idaho
Power and the Publ1c Utilities Commission to consider the
fact that sol-ar power would be at its peak during
irrigation season and locally produced solar power is a
great way to augment power in times of high demand and
thereby reduce the need to buy power and move power from
elsewhere. Idaho Power wil-I profit from this, also.
Solar power is good for Idaho and Idaho Power.
I'm asking you to pJ-ease protect f daho
Power's customers' rights to instal-1 solar panels without
unfair charges or fees. I believe that the retaj-l pri-ceso25
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CSB RE
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R
for net metering
the retail price
State of Nevada
the power company that
they're uslng for their
is best, but I feel that 95 percent of
is stil-l- reasonable. Thatrs what the
has done with their power company, with
in Nevada and that's whatl_s
net metering customers.
Idaho Power would still
profit,
choice
I think, sti11 then and please
for the earth, the air, the solar
l-ocal solar businesses, and Idaho
customers. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER:
Power's
be making a
make the right
businesses, the
sol-ar producing
(The witness left the
COMMISSIONER RAPER:
Thank you.
stand. )
Michael McBride.
MICHAEL McBRIDE,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testif ied as fol-l-ows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your full name and
spe11 your last name for the record?
A Michael Glenn McBride, M-c-B-r-i-d-e.
O Thank you, and your residence address?
McBRIDE
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I McBRIDE
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A I live at 2502 Laurie Lane in Twin FaIIs,
Idaho, and zip is 83301 and Irm Melody's other half.
O Okay, then you're a customer of Idaho
Power twice.
A Irm a customer. Yeah, we have two bills
that come.
A Okay, please go ahead.
A I spent quite a bit of time last night on
the Internet t.rying to fj-gure out just what to say and I
had a real- hard time finding numbers and I don't know, I
would have thought Idaho Power would have had the
numbersz ES several people have pointed out in this
session that came, before they made the request. I am
opposed to dividing residential customers into two
different classes. When you divj-de people, I just get
that feeling of divide and conquer and I donrt know if
that's part of their ball game or if they're just
concerned because there's this myth out there that solar
power is free.
As my wife said, we're going -- we already
signed the contract, we're going to invest a considerable
amount of money to have some panels on our rooftop and
it's going to take many, many years at the current rates
to make that pay off. If Idaho Powerrs reaf concern is
that we pay the same as our nej-ghbors that don't have25
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CSB REPORT McBRIDEPublic
solar power, some
telephone poles or
amount to maintain the grid or the
that can be handl-edwhatnot, I
into two
think
without dividing us different classes.
I think solar power is wonderful and I
think it's also a good deal- for our neighbors as well as
Idaho Power. V'Ie're fortunate here in this area to have
so much hydroelectrical power, but stil-l, the numbers
that I could fi-nd, 24 percent or so of our power comes
from coal-fired power plants. It has to come over wires
and as it's coming towards us, some of that electricity
dissipates; whereas, Lf my neighbor down the street is
using the excess power we produce on a sunny day in July
to run their air condj-tioner, there's not that big line
Ioss, so I think itrs a real1y great way to provide power
to the state, and because of this monopoly situation with
Idaho Power being everybody's Power Company and we can't
individually sel-l our power to our cousin in New York, I
think that you fol-ks have to stand up for us, because
we're just a collection of individual-s. We're not a big
organized corporation with lobbyists and speech writers
and advertisements on TV and the other things that a big
company l-ike Idaho Power can use to control- things.
Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, Mr.
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HAN
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: PauI Hancock.
PAUL HANCOCK,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testlfied as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Woul-d you please state your ful1 name and
spe11 your last name?
A Paul Hickman Hancock, H-a-n-c-o-c-k.
O And your residence address?
A
o
2150 Kootenai, K-o-o-t-e-n-a-i.
Thank you, and are you a customer of Idaho
Power?
A Yes, sir.
O Please go ahead.
A First, I'd like to thank Idaho Power for
providing incentive programs for commercial- properties
and we have taken advantage of them and I appreciate
that, that they've shared in the improvement of our
facilities, primarily energy efficiency in the aspect of
energy efficiency in lighting. Okay, however, I am25
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B TING HANCOCK
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against them terminating net metering, but for a
different reason than what has been said here.
Mayor BIad said just recently that our
greatest export in Pocatello is our children and I think
this is very true, because they all go off and get jobs
elsewhere, whether they want to or not, which, you know,
some of us like to stay here, some of us don't, but we
currently have a great program at Idaho State Uni-versity
caIled the Energy Systems program, a two-year program,
where kids can get trai-ned up for doing so1ar, wind,
geothermal. It's cal-l-ed Energy Systems, nuclear, the
whole shooting match. It's a two-year program. You
don't need to be in debt $150,000.
Those kids T mean, currently, we know
that ldaho Power is buying about a third of the power
f rom out of state. That's a couple bil-l-ion dollars going
out of state. We shoul-d be trying -- they shoul-d be
stepping up to the plate and getting invol-ved in this
solar, wind, these other things, geothermal-, whatever,
because the jobs will grow here and the economy w111 grow
here and it wil1 get better.
Now, the second reason I'm for the net
metering has to do with young people who decide, like I
did in 1979, to move here. If you want to start a
business, then you may need to build a building and youo25
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890-5198
1_HAN
may need to do some things. WeII, if you can factor in
your energy costs to that and pay it off in t2 years,
well, that's a good reason to stay here, and even if
you're not an entrepreneur and you just buy a house and
you're not going to flip them every five years, then
putting a system in that provides all your own power is
going to be a good investment for you so your cash flow
is a 1ot less 15 years from now. Thanks for your time.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Sometimes we take a
break midway, but it looks like we've only got seven
people left on my listr so if Connie's hands are doing
all rightr we're going to press on. I want to say before
people start filtering out, too, Lf that occurs is we
three real1y appreciate that al-I of you would come and
take your evening, which you could otherwise be at home
sitting in front of your television and relaxing. It
means a lot to us to have people come and participate and
we are paying attention to what you're saying and we will
take it into account and it will become part of the
permanent record in this caser so I just want you to know
from our perspective that it matters to us that you a1l
are here.
And f want to 1et you know, we actuallyo25
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P ING HANCOCKPublic
had at last Thursday's public hearing in Boise a
nine-year-ol-d boy testi-fy, so if you think that it's not
every age that is impacted by this kind of a decision and
what's going on, you know, cutest kid on the planet, so
he deserves credit for having come and sat in the front
of a room fuII of peopJ-e like this and sat on the witness
stand and got sworn in and testified, so it involves
everybody and we're happy to be here to listen to you
all, so thank you.
Sean Bartschi?
MR. BARTSCHI: Bartschi.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
MR. BARTSCHI: There's only five
consonants j-n a row, so no worries.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you for
forgiving me a litt1e bit there.
MR. BARTSCHI: Yeah, you're good.
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BRE ORTING BARTSCHI
PubIic
SEAN BARTSCHI,
appeari-ng as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMTNATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your fuII name and
spell your last name for the record?
A Sean Bartschi, B-a-r-t-s-c-h-i, 4545
Nounan Road, Nounan is N-o-u-n-a-n, Montpeli-er, Idaho,
83254.
O And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
A No, I'm not. I'm a customer of Rocky
Mountai-n Power.
a Please go ahead.
A Irm the weird guy; so f find myself in a
weird spot. The Idaho Pumpers Association is right
there. I'm an Idaho pumper and then I heard the Sierra
Club. I don't know j-f f want to be partners with those
guys, but I do thank you for
committee as well and I know
your tj-me here. I sit on a
you guys put in some brutal
hours and hear some bruta]
mine short, but thank you.
notes and paying attention
testimonies. I'11 try to keep
I see you've been taking
and I think that's fantastic25
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1 BARTSCHI
PubIic
that this decision has been left to the public to help
decide.
Like Mr . Andersen back there, I have two
f 'm also curious how that woul-dhomes on one system.
f have a solar power
an emergency to take
care of my family. I'm a pretty independent kind of
person. I'm on the end of the line out in the middle of
nowhere and that's just how i-t is, and then the other
comments that I wanted to mj-rror was Irm sorry, I
forgot your name, but the lady that went to Portland
Unj-versi-ty, her comments were excellent, and because
these three people saj-d some of the stuff I was going
sdy, I have to juggle around on my notes a littl-e bit, so
I apologize if I ramble a litt1e bit, but I say yes to
the smart inverters transfer switches. Safety is a
no-brainer.
I want to set the stage a l-ittl-e bit. I
had some technical issues like you guys as well. I ran
ouL of black ink because my kids were on the printer
making school stuff, so I used blue and it came out
First
work out, and
system mostly
l-ike Shannon Ans1ey,
for in the event of
off, I've almost
switch on. It's
green.
turn the power
always
cheap.
to the company and
the Power
had power when I
It's reliable.
It's fantastic.
to you guys. I
f mean, kudos
have neighbors that work for
power
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BARTSCHI
Public
Company, linemen and stuff and these guys are Idahoans
through and through. They are our friends, they're our
neighbors. V{e hang out. I mean, good guys, good people,
not just guys, but I want to set the stage and I can only
talk about Rocky Mountain Power.
I can't talk about fdaho Power. Irm down
there in that forgotten corner of the state, but when you
do new service I get six power billsr so when you do
service with Rocky Mountain Power, usually you get to buy
the new poles, even t.hough their Osmose tag says that the
tag is good and that pole is fine according to them, but
you need to put a new pole in, because apparently, your
new electrons are going to weigh too much, and you've got
to put in a transformer, so essentj-a1ly, we upgrade their
system. They get to keep it, we sign it over to them.
Aggravating, yeah. Maybe it's a cost of business, Irm
okay with it, maybe.
What I'm not okay with is the signature
page. Ir11 give it to her. I donrt know if Idaho Power
does this or not. I'11 read 1t realIy quick. "Waiver of
Jury Trial. To the fullest extent permitted by 1aw, each
of the parties hereto waives any right it may have to a
trial by jury in respect of litigation directly or
indirectly arlsing out of, under or in connection with
this contract. Each party further waives any right to25
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CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 890-s198
consolidate any action in which a jury trial has been
waived with any other action in which a jury trial cannot
be or has not been waived. "
I wanted to set the stage with that. Irm
not talking about our locals as being our enemies, but I
have a Constitutj-onal right to a jury trial and I have a
public protected monopoly saying that I don't have it. I
mean, it's not like I have another choice, so when I see
these things come up that potentially fdaho Power wants
to change the billing schedule, I think it's a fair
assumption to say that Rocky Mountain Power w111 jump on
board with this as well 1f Rocky Mountain Power feels the
same way. I know they just did this in Utah, so I feel
like this is coming d.own on us, and I personally don't
feel any obligation to Berkshire Hathaway, the owner of
Rocky Mountain Power. I don't care that they make 20
percent profits. I mean, Berkshire Hathaway is good at
making money. Why else would he buy a pubJ-ic utillty.
When I see statements l-ike that and then I
see this ambiguity of what could happen with
schedule, I'm nervous for Idahoans' freedom.
Itrs re1iable.
the billing
Like I
It'ssaid, though, power is
awesome. I use it. I
cheap.
love it.
paint bad dogs. f'm just
potential- for abuses here
Irm not really trying to
to sdy, like, there is
think that is one.
trying
and I
BARTSCHT
Public
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B TING BARTSCHI
Public
The power company benefits from the power.
Solar power makes better power. Irm not going to go into
the scientific here, but the sine wave is more closely
perfect than a transmission line from Kemmerer, Wyoming,
from the coal pIant, so the solar power that, 1et's sdy,
my system makes, it's better power. It comes on-line
during peak demand during the daytime and power we all
know Iikes to go to ground. ftrs going to find ground
the shortest possible way. ft's an efficient litt1e 9uy,
so down the line it runs to my nearest neighbor who is
using power, so the argument that
out thelr infrastructure, I
the very fact that it's not
mll-es. My electrons donrt
being
we're using and wearing
buy that argument for
transferred miles and
run over to Palisades and sit
donrt
in a Iittle storage tank and wait until somebody in AImo,
Idaho, needs power. It's going to my nearest neighbor.
A1so, I just read just the other day that
Boise has the number one growth in the nation and where
does Idaho get its power? I mean, we're pretty limited.
We're not going to build any more hydro dams. I mean, I
don't think we would. I don't think that it's possible
politically. Coal, Irm a fan of coal-. It's pretty clean
contrary to whatever we're told, but I mean, there's
political pressure on thatr so I donrt really feel- like
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CSB RE
(208)
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Public
to take these sma11 little kilowatts that solar power
produces.
I'm a pumper. I mean, one pivot takes so
many more kilowatts than a household system is ever going
to produce. Itrs nothing. They have job security, trust
me. The other thing Rocky Mountain Power is always
you know, theyrve always got these advertisements about
how we need to save power with this thermwise guy and
everything, and they give piles of money to environmental
groups and environmental thingsr So f mean, obviously,
they have money to throw around for environmental
reasons. If it's environmental, why wouldnft they care
about joe blow and me. myself, and I not using as much
from the coal p1ant.
The other thing, the power distribution,
I've heard the argument that it's hard for them to
balance how much power is needed during the day. Trust
R€, theyrre smart guys, they can figure it out. The very
reason why I say that is we have all these windmills in
Idaho. They don't come on-line every day when the sun
comes up and go off-line when the sun goes down. WeII,
1et's be honest, I mean, your solar panels are pretty
much toast by 3:30, 4:00 o'clock in the afternoon. They
don't do hardly anythj-ng, but the windmills, they work at
night. f mean, that is super unpredictable and they'reI25
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biq. They produce some real kilowatts when they start
turning.
A solar system, it works when peak demand
is and it's really, in my opinj-on, j-t's flowing to your
neighbor's house. ftrs not rea11y using their
infrastructure and itrs not l-ike their wires wear out.
You don't wear the life out of a wire or anything with
electrons flowing through it. It's there until they need
to change it, so there's a lot of growth coming. I don't
see the need to penalize the small production of solar
power.
And the last thing I'd like to say is as
technology changes, who was it that stepped j-n to save
Blockbuster? Nobody saved Blockbuster from technology.
We have the lnternet. You know, Blockbusters are gone
and it's awesome. Innovatj-on is. awesome, so I would urge
the Commission to reject the proposal and to keep it the
same way. I thank you for your time.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Mary --
MS. McALEESE: McAleese.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: -- McAleese, sorry.
CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 890-5r-98
BARTSCHI
Public
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REPORTING
, MARY McALEESE,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testif ied as f ol-lows:
EXAMINAT]ON
BY MR. COSTELLO:
0 Would you please state your fu11 name and
spe1l your last name for t,he record?
A Mary McAleese, M-c-A-1-e-e-s-e.
O Thank you, and your residence address?
A 265 South 14th Avenue here in Pocatello.
O And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
A I sure am.
O Please go ahead.
A Okay. Ironically, I live in a house that
was built by an executive of Idaho Power in 1978 and it
was buj-It to showcase the latest energy technol-ogies of
the day, so it's a south-facing passive solar house with
hot water solar collectors on the roof and we l-ove the
house. Irie just put a new roof on and we're ready to put
some solar panels up top. I feel l-ike I should just say
ditto, ditto, dittor so thank you everybody for saying
what I wanted to sdyr but I guess we have always been
proponents of sol-ar power and alternatj-ve energy
McALE E
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REPORTING McALEESE
Public
technologies, because it's the right thing to do and we
grew up in New Jersey and moved out to Idaho.
We love Idaho and everything it has to
offer, the clean water, the clean air, and we will do
everything we can to preserve that for our children and
maybe grandchildren. Most of you know my kids, forget
it, but my concern today is not only for my husband and
myself looking at putting in an energy system thatrs
going to cost a great amount of money, we want to do it
for the right reason, but we would like to be able to
afford it, but I think of all- the people who have already
put those systems in, we've been talking for years and
years about this 1s the right thing to do. We're going
to make this affordable. You're going to make your money
back over the lif etj-me of your system, and now werre
talking about changing the rules and Irm totally opposed
to that.
metering and
Power has to
consumers.
I'm totally opposed to getting rid of net
I would love to see the data that Idaho
that it's ethical-, and for those of
right. I don't
us who are of a
certain
you know
because
justify wanting
I don't feel that
age group, which
, to expect us to
.at's the right thing to
to create another class of
it's feel
a lot of us are, I feel- that,
lnvest in those technologies
do is difficult, because25
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CSB REPORT
they're expensive, and then when we talk about our young
into their homespeople wanting to put
and not continue what
those technol-ogj-es
we've started, which is net
metering, I feel that that's wrong, too, so thank you
everybody for your testimony. Thank you for your
thoughtful consj-deration about this obviousl-y very
important j-ssue, and that's al-1 I have to say. Thank
you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Peter Joyce.
PETER JOYCE,
appearing as a public witness, having been fj-rst duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Please state your full- name and spell your
l-ast name for the record.
My name r-s Peter Joyce, J-o-y-c-e.
And your residence address?
477 Cochise Avenue, Pocatello.
And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
A
o
A
a
JOYCE
Public
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R ING JOYCE
PubIic
A Iam.
O P1ease go ahead.
A First, f want to thank you for giving a
voj-ce to such a sma11 percentage of people that provide
solar power from their rooftops, so I'm glad I have the
opportunity to talk about this. A lot of people have
already said t.hings that I wanted to sdy, so I'11 spare
you that, but one thing I wanted to point out and the
gentleman earlier just said, Eorbes Magazine reports that
Boise, fdaho, is the fastest-growing city in the country
and that Idaho is the fastest-growing state in the
country. With that said, where is Idaho Power going to
get all this energy for al-I this growth thatrs comi-ng?
And why woul-d they want to defer residential soIar,
rooftop soIar, from helping out provide for that growth?
My wlfe and I have been doing everything
we can possibly do to help conserve energy. When we
bought our house umpteen years d9o, we replaced the
wj-ndows. We've put in a smart thermostat. Werve put in
LED light bul-bs before they became popular. We bought
Energy Star products, dishwashers and clothes dryers and
clothes washers and refrigerators. I ride a bicycle
every day to work, every day regardless of the weather.
My wife drives an energy efficient car.
We've tried to limit our energy25
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CSB RE
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TIN JOYCE
Public
consumption as best we could, because we feel-
right thing to do, and I think the right thing
do is to deny this request from Idaho Power to
Schedule 84. I do agree with the point that Mr
made about having smart inverters, but he al-so
out that that's pretty much the standard of the
thatrs the
for you to
close the
. Engle
pointed
industry
anyway, but
that Idaho
on the roof
yeah, that's a good point in this proposal
Power makes.
We just wrote a check to put sofar panels
and regardless of what the net metering
you decide,
not doing it
fdaho Power.
and limit
trying to
do.
we think thatrs the right thing to do. We're
to try
Wetre
or get money back from
do it because, again, it's
the right thing to
I disagree, I think burning coal is a
heinous source of energy and if my rooftop solar can help
limit some of that use of coal burning that Idaho Power
relies orrr then f think frm doing, again, the right
thing, so another thing that I scratch my head on and
this may be true or not based on the Internet, but Idaho
Power reports that they have roughly 535r 000 customers,
of which less than 0.2 percent, which is about 1,000 or
so people, have rooftop soIar, so that's a pretty small
fraction, and I think somebody el-se said until- that gets
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base or their customer base, then, yeah, maybe this might
be warranted.
I understand Idaho Power, theyrre in
business to make money. Wel1r ds a consumerr my goal is
to save money, so we kind of have a little conflict
there, but I don't have an air conditioner. I personally
think those that do should be charged more for the power
they use to produce for an air conditloner, so I'm going
to put solar power panels on the roof regardless. Some
people say they're waiting to see what you're going to
decide. I hope you decide to do what I think is the
right thing to do and deny Idaho Power their c1osure of
the Schedule 84, so, again, I appreciate you coming alI
the way over to this side of the state and giving such a
small group a voice to be heard, and I found it
interesting, in your Commission statement, it said here
to determine fair, just, and reasonable rates, well, I
hope that's fair, just, and reasonable for both the
consumer as well- as the power provider.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, sir.
THE WITNESS: Oh, one other thing I wanted
to say is I got this in my power biII, this nifty flyer
that must have cost a good amount of money, because itrs
in color and prj-nted on glossy paper, but regardless, it
says here, and I quote, "Like any good business, we have
CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 890-5198
JOYCE
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CSB REPORTIN LITZSINGER
PubIic
to evolve to meet the needs of our customers. hIe owe it
to them to find the most cost-effective and reasonable
technologies that are out there, period. "
Okay, "fdaho Power wil-l continue to
implement innovative solutions that increase reliability,
conserve resources and save customers money. "
Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: AII right, we're
almost there guys. Liana Litzsinger.
LIANA LITZSINGER,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
spell your
O Would you
Iast name for
A Liana Litzsinger,
And your residence
please state your ful1 name and
the record?
o
A
o
1540 Sun Valley Way,
Are you a customer of
L-i-t- z -s- j--n-g-e-r .
address?
Pocatel-lo, 83201.
Idaho Power?o 25
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CSB REPORTTNG(208) 890-s198
LITZS]NGER
PubIic
A Iam
O Pl-ease go ahead.
A Okay; so I am the proud owner of an
all-electric home. We made a deal with the devil- back in
August of 2000. When we moved from Oregon to Idahor we
had in Oregon just installed a high efficiency gas
furnace. We knew what we were getting ourselves j-nto at
the time based on what was going on at the time. Since
we purchased our homer w€ have done many things to keep
our home updated
W€, as some other fol-ks have said, we have
an energy efficiency mindset. We keep our furnace at
about 65 degrees during the day -- not furnace, but our
el-ectric or our temperature at about 65 durj-ng the day,
60 at night. In the summer, we do have an air
conditioner, sorry, but 1t doesn't come on until 81
degrees. We have energy efficiency appliances. In May
of last year, we had an energy audit done and the
reconrmendation was there were a couple of things that we
could do. We need to replace our water softener --
excuse me, our water heater, whj-ch we will do when this
one goes out of commission, but the only other way we can
reduce our energy costs is to change out the heating
system.
It was an interesting thing as I went backa25
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4 ER
through our bi1Is, not all the way back to 2000, but I
Iooked back at our bilIs back to '07 and herers what I
saw: Of course, we're on a terraced billing. We never
just hit that 1ower 1evel, that zero to 300 or zero to
800. Tn 2007, we used L,200 kilowatt-hours, and those
7,200 kilowatt-hours cost $76.00. Our lowest bill
recently was 600 kilowatt-hours and the bill- was about
$85.00. Here's what we have seen happen: Despite our
energy conservation mindedness, we have gotten caught in
thj-s trap of having an all-el-ectric home, and we pay in
addltlon to that terraced rater w€ pay things under the
name of energy efficiency services, which used to be
called the conservation funding program, some sort of a
terraced amount that looks like as we increase our
kilowatt-hour usage, that cost goes up.
In addition to thatr we also pay -- excuse
fir€, I've lost the name of that program -- an annual-
adjustment mechanism which increases our monthly bill
sometimes around $40.00 a month, so in addition to paying
more per
costs or
kilowatt-hour, Idaho Power has instituted
are our options:
some charges that increase our costs dsr
some
again,
WefuII electrj-c homeowners, so here
can changTe to a split system, heat.pump
can we have looked at solar. We were
doing the sofar. We will never probably
system, or we
excited about.
cover our needs25
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CSB REPORTING
(208 ) 8 90-s198
just with sol-ar panels on our home because of our high
eventually we will need to doconsumption.
both a split
Chances are
system as
When we
well as solar.
found out that fdaho Power was
requesting a different rate strategy for solar-producing
homeowners, that took the wind out of our sails. There
is probably no way that we would consj-der a sol-ar roof
system if you approve the change for Idaho Power. I
would encourage you to leave things as they are in terms
of your
that' s
treatment of sol-ar home systems and I guess
all I have to say.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you very much.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Kenneth Jones.
MR. JONES: I signed up by mistake. I
thought it was just signing to see who was here.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Okay. You don't have
anything else you want to add? Thanks for signing up.
Richard Feuerborn.
TZSINGER
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CSB REPORTING
[phone]
RICHARD FEUERBORN,
appearing as a publj-c witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Will you please state your full name and
spe1l your last name for the record?
A Richard Eeuerborn, F-e-u-e-r-b-o-r-n.
O And what is your residence address?
A 444 Skyline Drive, Pocatello.
O And are you a customer of Idaho Power?
A Yes.
O Please go ahead.
A Thank you, Commissioners. I'd like to
call- attention to what's happening right now on the East
Coast where hundreds of thousands of power customers are
wj-thout power because of the storm they're experiencing;
similarly, what happened on the Virgin Islands and al-so
some of the other islands out there where the hurricane
came through and took out power and they are months
trying to get some of the customers back, so the people
that came right back and had power were those that had
their own solar systems.
FEUERBORN
Public
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CSB RE
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I want Idaho and Idaho Power to be
forward-thinking and pJ-an for a future that is not
relying on fossil fuels, a future that or a future
with increased stability gained by distributed generation
think it's unwise and regressive toand storage. I
penalize forward-thinking
own money to help increase
power users who invest their
power resources in Idaho.
any rate
solar
Solar power benefits Idaho. Please reject
schedule that does not encourage homeowner
installations. Thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, sir.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Chris Cushing.
CHRIS CUSHING,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O Would you please state your fuIl name and
spell your last name for the record?
A Yeah, it's Christopher Cushing,
C-u-s-h-i-n-9.25
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CSB REPORTTNG
(208 ) 890-s198
4 CUSHING
Public
O And what is your residence address?
A 44L West 1-00 North Blackfoot, fdaho,
8322L.
O Are you a customer of fdaho Power?
A Yes, I am.
O Pl-ease go ahead.
A So I'm a current sol-ar user. I aIso, too,
manage an office here for a company called Blue Raven
So1ar, and Irve actually traveled with the sol-ar industry
for almost three years now. I started off in Arizona
with SRP, the power company down there, and ran a very
successful sales team down there that people were are
and currently am excited about solar. Unfortunately, the
utility company decided to j-mplement rate changes to make
it unaffordable for customers to actually go so1ar.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Mr. Cushing, if I can
ask a quick question, are you testifying on behalf of
yourself or on behalf of your company?
THE WITNESS: Me personally as a
customer.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you.
THE WITNESS: Okay, and so as soon as SRP
implemented the rate changes, tons of people were
devastated by what happened; no longer a viable business
for a lot of guys that I helped and currently work with,25
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CSB TING CUSH]N
and so we had to change markets and so we went to Nevada.
Nevada had a rate change as well- and you guys know the
story. Obviously, they lost the ability for a lot of
people to go sol-ar for a short amount of time which has
been reinstated. I moved here to Idaho and have since
grown a small team of residential solar consultants and
the solar movement j-s going very well-.
Vfe're just at the beginning of this and
the thing about it that excites me is that people are
talking about solar and they're getting excj-ted about it,
and the independentness of solar is such an exciting
thing that a 1ot of people want to get on board. Irve
yet to hear from anybody, and I dj-dnrt catch the very
first couple of people, but has anybody, you know, been
super for the j-mplemented changes? I haven't heard of
that and the thing about it is that I've seen how this
happens and I've seen how it's devastated other markets
with the solar industry, and I just don't see the ability
for the rate case to be heard yet. I mean, we're at such
a small percentaqe of people that have already gone
so1ar, and I'm not sure if I'm able to ask questions or
not.
COMI"IISSIONER RAPER: You can pose
in a positlon yetquestions for
to answer them
the record, but we're not
We speak through our Orders.25
(208) 890-sl_98
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THE WITNESS: Okay.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: You're welcome to
pose questions for the record for us to consider.
THE I/'IITNESS: Okay. You know, like f 've
heard, quite a few other people suggested that, you know,
Boise is growing so fast. I mean, the people that are
going solar are very much outweighed by the new customers
that are getting turned on by new homes being built, you
know, very rapidly. For every customer that fdaho Power
loses, only maybe you know, I don't know the numbers,
but statistically, it's been, you know, for every
customer that they l-ose, maybe 10 people are actually
getting turned on because they've buil-t a new home, and
so the thing is it's outweighing the cost of actually
people that they're actually losj-ng by how many homes
they're gaining, so I just don't know if the charges that
they're implementing are rea11y justifiable.
I mean, if I was a business owner and I
had, you know, al-l- these people rentj-ng from me my power,
you know, I would try to make sure that I kept them
happy, and with you .guys being the voj-ce of the people, I
think you've heard so much from them that f would hope
that you guys would take what we suggested and the
knowledge that you have, also the history of other solar
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companies have done, and I hope you guys can implement
some good changes for us, so thank you.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you for your
testimony.
(The witness Ieft the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: That concludes the
Iist of individuals that we had sign up before, but f
want to give another opportunity for anyone in the room
that didn't sign up, but would like to say something.
AUDIENCE: I think you actually missed a
few people. I dld sign in.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: What was your name?
MR. NELSON: Luke Nelson. I was on the
second sheet.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Oh, wow, look at
that. I marked you off.
MR. NELSON: I was going to say a 1ot of
things that people have already said.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: No, I do not want to
di-scourage you. I did not do that on purpose. Luke
Nelson, please.
COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: And Luke, tf it
heIps, in the margin she wrote great testimony.
CSB REPORTTNG(208) 890-s198
CUSHING
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890-5198
LUKE NELSON,
appearj-ng as a publj-c witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
EXAMINATION
BY MR. COSTELLO:
O hlou1d you please state your ful-l- name and
spell your last name for the record?
A Steven Luke Nelson, N-e-l-s-o-n.
O And your residence address?
A 2382 North Apple Lane, Pocatello, Idaho.
O Thank you, and are you a customer of Idaho
Power?
A I am, both commercial and residential-.
A P1ease go ahead.
A Thank you for not skipping me.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Oh, I did.
THE WITNESS: But thank you more for the
opportunity to be able to be part of this process.
Idahoans deserve a fair chance to control their energy
bills and invest in cl-ean energy. Net metering is a way
to do that. Idahoans have the right to self-supply
energy without utility interference, and when you invest
in a solar system to self-supply power to your home or
N SON
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PORTING
890-5198
business, yourre able to have that self-sufficiency.
Any extra energy that you produce can flow
back into the grid, Iike has been mentioned several
times, to your neighbors' homes. Clean solar power
reduees Idaho's dependence on non-renewable fossi-l fue1s,
especially coal which currently constitutes about
one-thj-rd of fdaho Powerrs portfolio.
Rate segregation compl-icates sol-ar PV
integration and wiII J-ike1y chill the growth of solar
power in the state as has been shown in several other
states. I'm certain that making good choices for the
environment are good for business and critical- for our
healthy
done on
and I have
future as a nation as there is no business to be
a dead planet.
I have three young children and my wife
been saving money for a solar power system for
our home as part of our commitment to a healthy
environment for our children and future generations. We
depend on fair and reasonable integration in the power
grid. Idaho should continue the fair, simple program
between Idaho Power and its customers who are meeting
their own energy needs. Because we cannot choose which
utility we do business with, net metering ensures that
utility rates are fair, just, and reasonable, and I ask
that the Commission reject Idaho Power's request.
NELSON
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COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you for your
test j-mony. I apologize.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: I know f said no
raising hands
missed or is
and yelling is there anyone el-se I
there anyone wishes to testify
out, but
else that
this evening? Sure.
KAY ANN FLOI/'IERS,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testified as follows:
THE V{ITNESS: Kay Ann Flowers, 535 South
9th and I am an Idaho Power customer.
MR. COSTELLO: Thank you.
THE WITNESS: Irve llstened to all- the
testimony tonight and I would like to offer kind of a
separate point of view. In the last 27 yearsr we have
seen the recording i-ndustry have a gigantic shift i-n how
it makes money, from CDrs now to streaming. We have seen
the Kodak Company whi-ch in 1998 sol-d the most digital
cameras and film cameras go bankrupt in seven years. We
haver ds someone pointed out, lost Blockbuster as weII.
Vile are now having problems keeping mal1s open.
The point is we are in a time of very25
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(208 ) 890-s198
rapid technological change and we are seej-ng things that
are traditional, monetary, and pricing structures shift.
I think that the proposal being made is premature. I see
it in many ways as a Band-Aid, so rather than tryJ-ng to
change an existing schedule, which appears to be working
well and appears to be encouraging the solar industry, f
think instead that Idaho Power should step back and
reconsj-der exactly how its pricing structure should be
put together rather than picking out these particular
customers.
For one thing, the more customers who are
able to provide their own el-ectricity, their own power,
for each one of those, fdaho Power can add additional
customers without having to buy additional- power. Over
time, they will- not have to bui1d additional power plants
and we might reduce over time the amount of power that we
have to buy from other sources. A11 of these are ways of
them saving money, which would make up for any money lost
to the solar industry, so I guess my bottom line is I
would reject the modification of the schedule, but what I
would prefer is to see a re-examination of all of their
pricing structure to reflect the fact that over the next
eight years, we're going to see major shifts in the way
power is made and distributed as well how much of it is
going to be done personally versus how much is going to
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be done by
utility.
support,
we don't
our utility.
I total-ly support the fact we
The grj-d is a public good that we
but we don't want to cut off a new
need a
need to
industry and
o1d pricingwant to try to tack on things to an
structure.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Thank you, Ms.
Flowers.
(The witness left the stand. )
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Is there anyone else
that remains? Sir.
DAVID GATES,
appearing as a public witness, having been first duly
sworn, testif ied as fol-1ows:
THE WITNESS: David Gates,
Pocatello, Idaho, 3415 Somerset Drive, and
fdaho Power customer.
THE WTTNESS:
G-a-t-e-s,
yes, I'm an
MR. COSTELLO:Thank you.
Thank you for }j-stening and
I woul-d echo a lot of thelistening to the small voice.
thl-ngs that have been said. I think the thing that stood
out to me is we'f1 use the business mantra of just in
time, solar brings power to the cl-osest proximity. We
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REPORTING GATES
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are not using the entirety ,of the grid, and kind of
relatj-ng a story, about 15 years dgo, I went to Wisconsin
and watched the rolling hil1s of Wi-sconsin disrupted by
wind and we all- tend to think of this renewable energy
source as being ideal, but I think of our alternatj-ves
and when I l-ook around the community, I.see thousands of
rooftops, al-l- of which could provide power in a
relatively unobstructed view of anybody.
Currently, what are our options? Are we
going to bring in coal? I don't think that's a very good
optJ-on. We could bring in hydroel-ectric. Hydroe.l-ectric
to me has its owns problems. Look at the salmon runs.
Look at the beauty of Idaho that we have. I make a trip
to Boise on a regular basis for work and, quite frankly,
as much as wind energy has been popularized, I am not a
big fan of it disrupting our beautiful- .l-andscape with
these big massive towersr so the one that really seems to
make sense, in my opinion, and it is an opj-nion, is
so1ar. Sol-ar is the one thing that we can actually
capitalize on.
We can bring it to the market, fry market,
my back door and my nelghbors' back door, in the most
efficient way posslble, and it is the wave of the future
and I think Idaho Povrer needs to support and promote
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5
to be headi-ng.
Thank you for your time.
COMMISSfONER RAPER: Thank
It's
COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER :
if we
tomorrow.
you.
(The witness left. the stand. )
AUDIENCE: Can I clarify one thing of my
testimony? Is that allowed?
COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: How about does
1t need to be on the record, because what you could do is
submit I apologize.
COMMISSIONER RAPER: I was golng to go
that direction.
COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: You'l-1 have an
opportunity
comments and
if you'd like to go ahead and submit written
woul-d encourage you
testimony.
AUDIENCE: Thanks.
to fol-low that up and
reference this
probably be the best bet, because
re-roundr w€ could be here until
just short.
That would
start to
COMMISSIONER RAPER: Okay; so if that is
all that we have for the evening, our last procedural
hurdle in this case occuris this Thursday and Friday, our
technical hearing where we will hear you heard me go
through the list of intervenors in the case. It's going
to be no smal-l featr so we wil-I hear testimony,
I
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CSB REPORTING(208) 890-s198
cross-examination, rebuttal, and then the record will
close fol-Iowing the technical hearj-ng probably by the end
of the second day, and we will deliberate privately and
issue a final Order in the case as expediently as
possible.
With that, this hearing is adjourned.
Thank you all very much for coming.
(The Hearing adjourned at 8:45 p.m. )
25
OQUY
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t2
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L9
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t SB REPORTTNG
AUTHENTICATION
This is to certify that the foregoing
proceedings held in the matter of the application of
Idaho Power Company for authority to establish new
schedules for residential and small general service
customers with on-site generation, commencing at
7:00 p.m.r on Monday, March 5th, 2078, dt the Pocatello
City Council Chambers, 9Ll- North 7th Avenue Pocatello,
Idaho, is a true and correct transcript of said
proceedings and the original thereof for the file of the
Commissi-on.
S
CONSTANCE S. BUCYCertified Shorthand Reporter #
25
(208) 890-s198
1s9 COLLOQUY
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