HomeMy WebLinkAbout20020910Boise Hearing - Vol 2.pdf
1 BOISE, IDAHO, TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2002, 1:15 P. M.
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4 COMMISSIONER SMITH: We will get started.
5 Mr. Fell, I think we're ready for your next witness.
6 MR. FELL: Our next witness is Mr. David
7 Eskelsen.
8
9 DAVID ESKELSEN,
10 produced as a witness at the instance of PacifiCorp,
11 having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified
12 as follows:
13
14 DIRECT EXAMINATION
15
16 BY MR. FELL:
17 Q Mr. Eskelsen, will you please state your
18 name and your position with PacifiCorp?
19 A David Eskelsen. I'm career communications
20 consultant.
21 Q And have you prefiled testimony in this
22 reconsideration phase of the case?
23 A Yes.
24 Q Are you also sponsoring Exhibits 31 and 32?
25 A That's correct.
559
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (Di)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q If I were to ask you today the questions
2 that are contained in your prefiled direct testimony,
3 would your answers be the same?
4 A Yes.
5 MR. FELL: With that, I move that we spread
6 the testimony of Mr. Eskelsen on the record as if read.
7 COMMISSIONER SMITH: If there's no
8 objection, it is so ordered.
9 MR. FELL: And move for the admission of
10 Exhibits 31 and 32.
11 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Without objection,
12 Exhibits 31 and 32 will be admitted.
13 (PacifiCorp Exhibit Nos. 31 & 32 were
14 admitted into evidence.)
15 (The following prefiled testimony of
16 Mr. David Eskelsen is spread upon the record.)
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560
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (Di)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q Please state your name and business
2 address.
3 A My name is David Eskelsen. My business
4 address is One Utah Center, Suite 2300, 201 South Main
5 Street, Salt Lake City, Utah 84140-2300.
6 Qualifications
7 Q Please describe your employment history
8 with PacifiCorp (or the "Company").
9 A I joined the company August 18, 1986,
10 assigned to write and edit the Company's employee
11 newspaper. In succeeding years, I have continued in
12 various assignments in the Company's Corporate
13 Communications department in both internal and external
14 communications assignments.
15 Q What are your responsibilities?
16 A My responsibilities include providing
17 communications and public relations counsel to PacifiCorp
18 managers and executives, and acting as the Company's lead
19 news media spokesman in Idaho, Utah and Wyoming.
20 Q What is your educational background?
21 A I have Bachelor of Science degree in
22 Journalism from Utah State University, Logan, Utah, and
23 seven years experience as a newspaper reporter.
24 Purpose of Testimony
25 Q What is the purpose of your testimony.
561
Eskelsen, Di - 1
PacifiCorp
1 A The purpose of my testimony is twofold:
2 First, I will discuss the Company's general practices
3 with respect to customer communications in the context of
4 regulatory matters. Second, I will address the Company's
5 customer communications strategy particular to this
6 proceeding. I will also describe the
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Eskelsen, Di - 1a
PacifiCorp
1 direct customer communications that took place in this
2 proceeding by way of local news media contacts, articles
3 and editorials resulting from those contacts.
4 PacifiCorp's General Customer Communications Practices
5 Q What is the Company's general strategy with
6 respect to customer communications in the context of
7 regulatory matters?
8 A First, we seek guidance from the Company's
9 Regulation department and legal counsel on compliance
10 with regulatory notice requirements. Second, we choose
11 from a variety of communications vehicles and tactics to
12 make as much information available to customers as
13 possible, while providing clarity and context to the
14 complex process of setting utility rates.
15 Q In general, when PacifiCorp makes a
16 regulatory filing, what steps are taken to ensure
17 compliance with regulatory notice requirements and to
18 advance the Company's strategy to make available as much
19 information to customers as possible?
20 A Corporate Communications drafts a
21 communications plan, which outlines the major issues of
22 the regulatory filing and the time line for filings and
23 hearings. The plan lists internal and external target
24 audiences for this information and discusses which of the
25 various communications vehicles should be employed, and
563
Eskelsen, Di - 2
PacifiCorp
1 when, together with draft versions of these materials.
2 The plan is circulated to the Regulation department,
3 legal counsel and selected Company executives for review
4 and comment.
5 Q Please describe the various methods the
6 Company employs to provide notice to
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Eskelsen, Di - 2a
PacifiCorp
1 customers of its regulatory filings.
2 A These methods include background
3 information for employees who have personal contact
4 responsibilities with larger industrial and commercial
5 customers and elected officials; news releases;
6 background information provided to customer service
7 representatives to use in response to customer telephone
8 calls; bill messages; bill inserts; and in some cases,
9 paid advertising.
10 PacifiCorp's Customer Communications Strategy in this
11 Proceeding
12 Q Was the Company's communications strategy
13 in this proceeding consistent with its general
14 communications strategy?
15 A Yes. The Company's overall strategy--to
16 comply with regulatory notice requirements and make
17 available as much information to customers as possible,
18 consistent with clarity--remained the same.
19 Q What specifically did the Company decide
20 was necessary in this case to effectuate those
21 objectives?
22 A The Company communications plan included a
23 news release concurrent with the initial filing, plus
24 follow-up contacts with news media, as needed. Another
25 news release was contemplated upon a final ruling by the
565
Eskelsen, Di - 3
PacifiCorp
1 Commission. The plan also contained a task for seeking a
2 determination from legal counsel concerning requirements
3 for legal notices and bill inserts related to the
4 proceeding.
5 Q Did the Company consider including in its
6 communications plan individual notice to customers
7 regarding the power cost recovery Application?
8 A Yes, we did. We planned to provide
9 customers with individual notice of the
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566
Eskelsen, Di - 3a
PacifiCorp
1 impact on customer rates, if any, at some point, and
2 considered whether the notice should be provided at the
3 time of the filing or after the final order was issued.
4 Q What did you decide?
5 A The Company was advised by counsel that
6 individual customer notice at the time of the power cost
7 recovery filing was not required by the Idaho Rules.
8 Although PacifiCorp did not think such notice was
9 required, the Company still considered providing
10 individual notice at the time of the filing as a matter
11 of customer communications. In the Company's experience,
12 however, customers can be confused by multiple notices
13 regarding the same filing. In the interest of clarity of
14 communication, the Company instead decided that it would
15 individually notify customers when the Commission issued
16 a decision regarding its Application, if that decision
17 resulted in a rate change.
18 Q What did the Company do to implement its
19 communications plan in this proceeding?
20 A The Company responded to news media
21 inquiries prior to the filing of the case on January 4,
22 2002. These inquiries were mainly in response to
23 expectations that the Company would file a rate
24 proceeding in January 2002. Upon filing of the case, a
25 news release was issued to news outlets in the Company's
567
Eskelsen, Di - 4
PacifiCorp
1 service area in Idaho and posted on the Utah Power
2 internet web site. Company rate schedules were made
3 available for public inspection at local offices. In
4 addition, Glen Pond's testimony will address the direct
5 customer communications that took place in this
6 proceeding by way of informational meetings and other
7 local activities of which
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568
Eskelsen, Di - 4a
PacifiCorp
1 he is aware.
2 Q Please describe Exhibit No. 31.
3 A Exhibit No. 31 includes all of the press
4 releases issued by the Company in this proceeding.
5 Q To whom did the Company circulate those
6 releases?
7 A News releases regarding Company issues in
8 Idaho were sent to the following news media outlets:
9 Fall River Review, Ashton; KDIK-TV, Idaho Falls; KIFI-TV,
10 Idaho Falls; KID Radio, Idaho Falls; the Idaho
11 Post-Register, Idaho Falls; the Idaho Enterprise, Malad;
12 KVSI Radio, Montpelier; the News-Examiner, Montpelier;
13 KPVI-TV, Pocatello; Idaho State Journal, Pocatello; the
14 Preston Citizen, Preston; the Standard-Journal, Rexburg;
15 the Jefferson Star, Rigby; the Shelley Pioneer, Shelley.
16 Q Apart from those press releases, did the
17 Company have any direct communication with the Idaho news
18 media?
19 A Yes. In December 2001, my associate,
20 Kimball Hansen, conducted an interview with Steve
21 Fishbaugh, a reporter for the Idaho Falls Post-Register,
22 concerning the two year rate moratorium the Commission
23 imposed on the Company before approving its merger with
24 ScottishPower, and the prospects for a power cost
25 recovery filing in January. The article appeared
569
Eskelsen, Di - 5
PacifiCorp
1 Dec. 22, 2001 in the Idaho Falls Post-Register, and that
2 same week in the Post-Registers weekly publication,
3 Intermountain Farm & Ranch. I conducted interviews with
4 news reporters about the rate filing on the following
5 dates: January 7, 2002 with Joyce Edlefsen, Rexburg
6 Standard-Journal; March 3, 2002 with Harriet King,
7 McGraw-Hill
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570
Eskelsen, Di - 5a
PacifiCorp
1 (energy trade publications); March 19, 2002 with a
2 consumer writer from the Post-Register; April 24, 2002
3 with Steve Fishbaugh, Post-Register; May 3, 2002 with
4 Eric Mittendal, KIFI-TV Ch. 8, Idaho Falls; May 7, 2002
5 with the Preston Citizen reporter who covered the IPUC
6 field hearing there; June 7, 2002 with Paul Menser, Idaho
7 Falls Post-Register; June 13, 2002 with Jude Noland,
8 Clearing Up (a trade publication).
9 Q Please describe Exhibit No. 32.
10 A Exhibit No. 32 is a chronological
11 collection of newspaper articles, letters to the editor
12 and editorials published in Idaho newspapers regarding
13 the Company's Application in this case.
14 Q You mentioned earlier in your testimony
15 that the Company's communications plan included
16 individually noticing customers of a Commission-ordered
17 rate change by way of a bill message. Were bill messages
18 regarding the rate changes in this case sent to
19 PacifiCorp customers after the Commission issued it
20 Order?
21 A Yes. The Commission approved the proposed
22 Stipulation and Settlement in this case on June 7, 2002
23 and, as a result, Idaho customers' rates were changed
24 effective with service on and after June 8, 2002.
25 Q Does this conclude your testimony?
A Yes.
571
Eskelsen, Di - 6
PacifiCorp
1 (The following proceedings were had in
2 open hearing.)
3 MR. FELL: Mr. Eskelsen is available for
4 cross-examination.
5 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Mr. Woodbury.
6 MR. WOODBURY: Thank you, Madam Chair.
7
8 CROSS-EXAMINATION
9
10 BY MR. WOODBURY:
11 Q Mr. Eskelsen, how are you?
12 A I'm fine.
13 Q Could you briefly describe the structure of
14 the corporate communications department?
15 A We have a vice president.
16 Q Who is that?
17 A That is Rachel Sherrard.
18 Q Okay.
19 A Reporting to her is Jan Mitchell who is
20 supervisor.
21 Q Okay.
22 A And then there are myself and other members
23 of the communications team that report to Jan Mitchell.
24 Q Jan Mitchell, I believe I saw her name, she
25 was involved in this application of the Company?
572
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A Yes.
2 Q And was she actively involved or did you
3 just run information by her?
4 A She was involved in reviewing the
5 communications planning and the products produced for the
6 communications effort.
7 Q You state that there is the general
8 strategy -- there is a general strategy that is followed
9 with respect to customer communication in regulatory
10 matters and first, you seek guidance from the regulation
11 department and from legal counsel.
12 A That's correct.
13 Q And this is following a communication plan
14 that's developed?
15 A Yes.
16 Q And did you participate in the drafting of
17 that plan for this case?
18 A I did.
19 Q And who else participated in that in the
20 communications department? Rachel? Jan Mitchell?
21 A Jan Mitchell. Rachel Sherrard also
22 reviewed the materials produced. I also share those with
23 other members of the communications department, my
24 colleagues who might have to answer questions posed by
25 the news media.
573
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q And the guidance that you're seeking from
2 legal counsel is compliance, regarding compliance, with
3 regulatory notice requirements?
4 A That's correct.
5 Q And were you involved in those requests of
6 your legal team?
7 A Yes.
8 Q And could you explain the questions that
9 you posed to them?
10 A At the beginning of the case working with
11 Mr. Larson, I asked the question, you know, what, if any,
12 regulatory notice requirements are needed, do we need to
13 produce and include a billing insert, are there any other
14 notice requirements that we have to fulfill with this
15 particular filing because it was unusual.
16 Q Was it your belief that the Company's
17 filing in this case was unusual?
18 A I thought it was unusual because of my
19 previous experience in rate proceedings the past 15 years
20 with the Company.
21 Q You state that the communications
22 department chooses from a variety of vehicles and
23 tactics. Is there a manual that you use in developing a
24 strategy?
25 A There's no written manual. We rely on our
574
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 experience and there are a number of templates that we
2 use that we found that work well. Because the regulatory
3 requirements tend to be different in each of the states
4 we serve, the communications plans that we produce in
5 each state tend to vary, also.
6 Q Okay, and as stated, one of the stated
7 goals is to make as much information available to
8 customers as possible?
9 A That's correct.
10 Q There seems to be a tempering caveat of
11 while providing clarity and context?
12 A I think that's particularly critical in
13 regulatory matters, yes.
14 Q Is cost a factor in the decision regarding
15 which notice or communication strategy is followed by the
16 Company?
17 A It's a consideration.
18 Q And what is the cost to PacifiCorp of
19 providing individual notice?
20 A I don't know exactly.
21 Q Was it discussed in the context of
22 developing a communication plan in this case?
23 A No.
24 Q Is the substance of the communication plan
25 that was developed in this case what is described in your
575
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 testimony on page 3, lines 15 to -- 12 to 15? Let me see
2 here.
3 A Are you referring to page 3, the answer
4 beginning on line 15?
5 Q Yes. No, wait a minute, I'm on the wrong
6 page here. Yeah, 12 to 19.
7 A Yes.
8 Q Okay, and do you have a copy of that
9 communication plan that was developed for this case?
10 A I do not have it with me.
11 Q And do I understand from your testimony
12 that the plan once developed was circulated for approval
13 to Rachel -- what's her last name?
14 A Rachel Sherrard, yes, she reviewed it.
15 Q And also to Jan Mitchell?
16 A That's correct.
17 Q And anybody else as Company executives?
18 You indicate selected Company executives.
19 A Mr. Larson, certain members of his team and
20 certain officers of the Company also were sent copies of
21 the communications plan and the products produced.
22 Q And once developed and reviewed, were
23 there -- was there tweaking or changes made to the plan?
24 A There was a series of revisions during the
25 approval process.
576
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q And did any of those revisions pertain to
2 the notice that should be provided to customers?
3 A Yes, there was an exchange among the
4 regulatory and legal functions of the Company as to what
5 kind of customer notice is required in this case.
6 Q Can I refer you to your communication to
7 Peggy Ryan in Exhibit 26? It's dated January 11th,
8 page 1, Exhibit 26.
9 A I have it.
10 Q You state, "Sounds like from John's
11 assessment we are not required to place an ad." What are
12 you referring to by the word "ad"?
13 A That really was misspoken on my part. I
14 was actually referring to the discussion of a billing
15 insert. I used the phrase "ad" there because we were
16 also discussing in other quarters a requirement to place
17 an ad in our jurisdiction in Wyoming where a display or
18 not a display ad, but a paid advertisement is required
19 under certain circumstances. I just misspoke in typing
20 that e-mail.
21 Q And your conclusion, "I assume a billing
22 insert or bill message would be up to us, but seems
23 logical"?
24 A Yes.
25 Q Could you explain your thought process
577
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 there as to why you believed it would be reasonable to
2 use such a means of notification to customers?
3 A It would be logical to inform customers of
4 any kind of action by billing insert, but at this time I
5 did not have an appreciation for the manner in which this
6 case would proceed; that is, an initial filing, the
7 implementation of the BPA credit on February 1st,
8 followed by a space of time when the power costs would be
9 resolved and an unknown factor of when the other
10 proposal, the cost of service study, might be resolved.
11 Q Did you in your conversations with the
12 regulation department make the case for individual
13 notification to customers?
14 A I basically looked to them for direction
15 and as Doug and his staff explained to us the way that
16 this case would proceed, after some discussion, we
17 decided that it would be best to not issue a billing
18 insert and to initiate a program of a news release on the
19 initial filing, followed by a news release when the BPA
20 credit was implemented and initiate a series of public
21 outreach meetings in which members of our staff would
22 meet face to face with key customer contacts to explain
23 what was happening in this regulatory proceeding.
24 Q On Page 3 of your testimony you state, "We
25 planned to provide customers with individual notice of
578
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 the impact on customer rates, if any, at some point," and
2 the "we" is the communications department that you're
3 speaking of there?
4 A I'm sorry, which page?
5 Q Page 3, line 22, I'm sorry.
6 A Yes, the determination was that it would be
7 most appropriate to issue a billing insert when the case
8 was resolved and the ultimate impact on customers was
9 known.
10 Q My question was, who is the "we" that
11 you're referring to?
12 A Who is the we?
13 Q Yeah.
14 A The Company collectively.
15 Q Collectively, and in the communication
16 department specifically, those parties, all of the
17 parties, that were involved in the decisions?
18 A I'm sorry?
19 Q In the communication department, the "we"
20 would include essentially the vice president, Jan
21 Mitchell and yourself?
22 A That's correct.
23 Q Could you explain -- I think Mr. Larson
24 passed to you a question as to whether or not there was
25 any notice provided with the Commission's Order approving
579
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 a BPA exchange credit effective February 1st.
2 A My recollection is that there was a billing
3 notice, a billing message.
4 Q A billing message, and do you have a copy
5 of that message with you that went out?
6 A I do not.
7 Q And did you craft that message?
8 A I provided drafts. My recollection is that
9 they were edited by several people before they appeared
10 on bills.
11 Q And do you recall that message consisted of
12 how many lines?
13 A It consisted of a few words. I think the
14 limitation on a billing message is something less than
15 130 characters.
16 Q You state that in the interest of clarity
17 of communication, the Company decided that it would
18 individually notify customers when the Commission made a
19 decision if the decision resulted in a rate change. You
20 did interpret the Commission's Order in this case as
21 resulting in a rate change, though?
22 A Yes.
23 Q Okay, and the Company's filing did result
24 in tariff changes?
25 A I don't know as I would characterize them
580
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 as tariff changes. It was a temporary surcharge.
2 Q Was there a tariff change with respect to
3 the BPA credit?
4 A I don't know.
5 Q You don't know, but this was the change
6 that you crafted a message with respect to individual
7 notice at the end of January?
8 A Well, I don't know whether the BPA
9 pass-through constituted a tariff change. My
10 understanding of tariff change is the rates that the
11 Company charges its customers and because the BPA case
12 was a pass-through federal credit, that's not my
13 understanding of what a tariff change is.
14 Q Was there any adjustment to customer rates
15 as a result of the BPA exchange credit?
16 A There was an effect on customer bills. I
17 wouldn't call it a change in customer rates.
18 Q You state that in the Company's experience
19 customers can be confused by multiple notices regarding
20 the same filing. You're speaking from your own personal
21 experience here?
22 A Yes.
23 Q But isn't that -- you are a communications
24 consultant, did you indicate that that was your
25 expertise?
581
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A Yes.
2 Q And so isn't it your job to craft notices
3 so that customers can distinguish between what is
4 proposed and what is approved?
5 A Yes.
6 Q In Exhibit 31 you indicate you sent out
7 press releases that were sent to media outlets. Those
8 are Company press releases?
9 A Yes.
10 Q Do you know what the total circulation of
11 the newspapers in your Idaho service territory is?
12 A I have not added up those figures, no.
13 Q Do you know how many customers PacifiCorp
14 has?
15 A About 55,000.
16 Q And do you have copies of the stories that
17 were printed as a result of your press releases?
18 A We do.
19 Q Are those set forth --
20 A Exhibit No. 32.
21 Q Okay, and do you feel that the stories
22 accurately represented the information set forth in its
23 press releases?
24 A The news stories are fairly accurate, yes.
25 Q Fairly accurate?
582
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A Yes.
2 Q But it's -- they don't, would it be fair to
3 say they don't, report what the Company's press release
4 indicated verbatim?
5 A They do not.
6 Q Can I refer you to Exhibit 32, page 1?
7 A Yes.
8 Q What does that purport to be?
9 A Exhibit 32, page 1 is a news story from the
10 Idaho Falls Post Register dated December 22nd, 2001.
11 Q And do you know who Kimball Hansen is?
12 A I do.
13 Q Who is that?
14 A He is an associate of mine employed in the
15 Salt Lake City office of corporate communications.
16 Q Looking at the fourth paragraph in that
17 article, could you read that?
18 A The paragraph that begins "Utah Power
19 spokesman"?
20 Q Yes.
21 A "Utah Power spokesman Kimball Hansen said
22 the Company will likely be filing for a general rate
23 increase with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission on
24 January 4, but customers will probably benefit."
25 Q This was an article that appeared
583
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 December 22nd of 2001, just a matter of days before the
2 Company's filing; correct?
3 A Yes.
4 Q And Kimball Hansen is a spokesman, member
5 of the communication department as representing to the
6 media, characterizing the Company's filing as a general
7 rate increase?
8 A I think this is an example where the news
9 media does not often accurately represent what the
10 Company is proposing. I notice that this is not a direct
11 quote and at that time I'm not sure that we as a
12 communications department were characterizing the coming
13 event as a general rate case. We knew that there was a
14 power cost case being prepared for filing in Idaho.
15 MR. WOODBURY: Thank you. Madam Chair, I
16 have no further questions of Mr. Eskelsen.
17 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thank you,
18 Mr. Woodbury.
19 Mr. Shurtz, do you have any questions?
20 MR. SHURTZ: Yes.
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584
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 CROSS-EXAMINATION
2
3 BY MR. SHURTZ:
4 Q On page 4, let's see, line 19, it starts,
5 "Company rate schedules were made available for public
6 inspection at local offices," did you guys keep a record
7 of how many people or customers came in to those local
8 offices to inspect those, that information?
9 A I do not know. I did not keep such
10 records.
11 Q Okay, did you communicate through any press
12 releases or any news outlets that that was a place where
13 they could obtain that information?
14 A Did I communicate with customers?
15 Q Was there any Company communication through
16 your area of responsibility to the general public or
17 customers that they could come to those offices and
18 obtain that information?
19 A I don't believe that was covered in either
20 of the news releases we sent.
21 Q Okay, and how many news releases did you
22 put out?
23 A There were two, one January 7th, another
24 February 1st.
25 Q Okay, other than that, did you have any --
585
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 do any paid advertising or any advertisement within the
2 service area?
3 A I'm not aware of any paid advertisements
4 connected with this case. There may have been paid
5 advertisements that appeared in newspapers during this
6 time, but that function is done by another department and
7 I don't have knowledge of what paid advertisements might
8 have appeared during this time.
9 MR. SHURTZ: Okay, I have no further
10 questions.
11 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thank you,
12 Mr. Shurtz.
13 Are there questions from the Commission?
14 Commissioner Kjellander.
15 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: I just have one.
16
17 EXAMINATION
18
19 BY COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER:
20 Q You mentioned in response to a question
21 asked by Mr. Woodbury that you considered the filing
22 unusual. As a result of looking at the filing and
23 describing it as unusual, did you make any
24 recommendations to anyone at the Company specifically
25 relating to a bill insert?
586
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A When it became clear that the different
2 moving pieces of the case would be implemented at much
3 different times, our recommendation as corporate
4 communications was not to issue a billing insert at the
5 beginning of the case or at any of the subsequent steps
6 in the case, because our experience indicated that,
7 particularly with billing inserts, that often tends to
8 confuse customers into thinking that there are multiple
9 rate increases or rate actions happening.
10 Q So before you saw as part of the
11 communications department that there were these moving
12 pieces as you call them, a billing insert was something
13 you would have recommended?
14 A It was something that we would have
15 considered, but that was mostly in the context of what
16 was required by Idaho rules.
17 COMMISSIONER KJELLANDER: Okay, thank you.
18 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Do you have redirect,
19 Mr. Fell?
20 MR. FELL: No redirect. Thank you.
21 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thank you very much.
22 (The witness left the stand.)
23 MR. FELL: PacifiCorp's next witness is
24 Glen Pond.
25
587
CSB REPORTING ESKELSEN (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 GLEN POND,
2 produced as a witness at the instance of PacifiCorp,
3 having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified
4 as follows:
5
6 DIRECT EXAMINATION
7
8 BY MR. FELL:
9 Q Mr. Pond, would you please state your name
10 and your position with PacifiCorp?
11 A Glen Pond. I'm the regional community
12 manager for Idaho.
13 Q Mr. Pond, have you -- are you sponsoring
14 prefiled direct testimony in this reconsideration
15 hearing?
16 A Yes.
17 Q And do you have any corrections to your
18 prefiled testimony?
19 A Yes, one correction. My degree from
20 Brigham Young University should have read marketing and
21 accounting minor degree instead of finance.
22 Q So it's a Bachelor of Arts degree in
23 marketing with a minor in accounting?
24 A Yes.
25 Q And are you also sponsoring Exhibit 33 in
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Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 this case?
2 A I am.
3 Q If I were to ask you today the questions
4 that are contained in your prefiled testimony with the
5 correction you just made, would your answers be the same?
6 A Yes.
7 MR. FELL: I move that the Commission
8 spread Mr. Pond's testimony on the record as if read.
9 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Without objection, it
10 is so ordered.
11 MR. FELL: And that Exhibit 33 be admitted.
12 COMMISSIONER SMITH: If there is no
13 objection, Exhibit 33 will be admitted into the record.
14 (PacifiCorp Exhibit No. 33 was
15 admitted into evidence.)
16 (The following prefiled testimony of
17 Mr. Glen Pond is spread upon the record.)
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CSB REPORTING POND (Di)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q Please state you name and business address.
2 A My name is Glen Pond. My business address
3 is One Utah Center, Suite 2300, 201 South Main Street,
4 Salt Lake City, Utah 84140-2300.
5 Qualifications
6 Q Please describe your employment history
7 with PacifiCorp (or the "Company").
8 A I have been with the Company 19 years, all
9 of which have been spent serving the Company's Idaho
10 service territory. During my tenure at the Company, I
11 have worked in the following areas: accounting, customer
12 service, and community and economic development.
13 Q What is your current position at the
14 Company?
15 A I am the Regional Community Manager for the
16 Company's Idaho service territory.
17 Q What are your responsibilities as the Idaho
18 Regional Community Manager?
19 A I act as the Company representative and
20 facilitate communication between the Company and the
21 Idaho public entities the Company serves. I also work
22 with economic development groups in the area.
23 Q What is your educational background?
24 A I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in
25 Accounting and Marketing from Brigham Young University.
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PacifiCorp
1 Purpose of Testimony
2 Q What is the purpose of your testimony?
3 A The purpose of my testimony is to describe
4 the Company's direct communications with customers that
5 took place in this proceeding by way of informational
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Pond, Di - 1a
PacifiCorp
1 presentations at meetings and other local activities of
2 which I am aware.
3 Informational Meetings with Customers
4 Q Please describe your involvement in this
5 proceeding.
6 A Before the Company filed its Application in
7 this case, I met with representatives of various customer
8 groups and discussed generally the background and context
9 of the Company's proposed filing. In addition, as part
10 of the Company's communications plan in this proceeding,
11 I was asked to develop an informational presentation
12 regarding the Company's power cost recovery filing and
13 BPA credit certification. I developed that presentation
14 and Robert Smead, the Company's Idaho Irrigation
15 Specialist, and I presented it to various groups after
16 the Company filed its Application.
17 Q Please describe Exhibit No. 33.
18 A Exhibit No. 33 is a table that contains
19 information regarding each of the meetings Mr. Smead or I
20 attended both before and after the Company's Application
21 was filed.
22 Q Did you have any other contact with
23 customers regarding this proceeding?
24 A Yes. One of my responsibilities as
25 Regional Community Manager is to meet regularly with a
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Pond, Di - 2
PacifiCorp
1 representative group of PacifiCorp's Idaho customers
2 entitled the "Consumer Advisory Group" to discuss Company
3 activities. This power cost recovery filing was the
4 topic of a presentation and round-table discussion at two
5 of those Consumer Advisory Group meetings.
6 Q Please describe those two Consumer Advisory
7 Group meetings.
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Pond, Di - 2a
PacifiCorp
1 A The first of those meetings took place on
2 August 29, 2001, and the second on January 24, 2002. I
3 asked Bob Lively, Manager, Regulation at PacifiCorp, to
4 attend both of these meetings with me. At the August 29,
5 2001 Consumer Advisory Group meeting, we made a
6 presentation and answered questions regarding the
7 Company's excess power costs that were at that time being
8 deferred pursuant to Commission approval. We also
9 discussed other items of interest concerning our
10 irrigation customers and our company structure and
11 community involvement. At the Consumer Advisory Group
12 meeting on January 24, 2002, we discussed the Company's
13 then-recent excess power cost recovery filing and, in
14 particular, issues related to the Hunter 1 generator
15 outage.
16 Q Is that the same Bob Lively who submitted
17 direct testimony in this proceeding?
18 A Yes.
19 Q Who generally attends Consumer Advisory
20 Group meetings?
21 A The following is the list of
22 representatives currently invited to attend Consumer
23 Advisory Group meetings: (1) Bonneville County
24 Commissioner, Lee Staker; (2) Joyce Edlefsen
25 (representative from St. Anthony); (3) Mayor of Ammon,
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Pond, Di - 3
PacifiCorp
1 Bruce Ard; (4) Roy Smith (Chairman of the Group); (5)
2 Jeff Siddoway (representative from Terreton); (6) Mayor
3 of Malad, Spence Horsley; (7) Bear Lake County
4 Commissioner, Dwight Cochran; (8) George Wilcox
5 (representative from Preston); (9) Donna Benfield
6 (representative from Rexburg); (10) Diana Richman
7 (representative from Teton); and (11) Richard Westerberg
8 (representative from Preston).
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Pond, Di - 3a
PacifiCorp
1 Q Do you have a record of the individuals who
2 attended the two particular Consumer Advisory Group
3 meetings at which elements of this proceeding were
4 discussed?
5 A The following is a list of the individuals
6 who attended the meeting on August 29, 2001: (1) Mary
7 Ann Mounts (representative from Rexburg who has since
8 resigned); (2) Heber Hansen (Mayor of Shelley who
9 attended the meeting as a guest); (3) Roy Smith; (4)
10 Joyce Edlefsen; and (5) Bruce Ard. The following is a
11 list of the individuals who attended the meeting on
12 January 24, 2002: (1) George Wilcox; (2) Dwight Cochran;
13 (3) Lee Staker; (4) Spence Horsley; and (5) Bruce Ard.
14 Q Does this conclude your testimony?
15 A Yes.
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Pond, Di - 4
PacifiCorp
1 (The following proceedings were had in
2 open hearing.)
3 MR. FELL: Mr. Pond is available for
4 cross-examination.
5 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Mr. Woodbury, do you
6 have questions?
7 MR. WOODBURY: Thank you, Madam Chair.
8
9 CROSS-EXAMINATION
10
11 BY MR. WOODBURY:
12 Q Mr. Pond, on page 2 of your testimony,
13 starting around line 18, you discuss a consumer advisory
14 group that was used in this application.
15 A Yes.
16 Q Can you explain generally how these groups
17 are formed?
18 A Yes. I had one earlier back in the early
19 '90s and we invited members, different members, of the
20 different communities in Idaho to join that group where
21 we would give them input of what the Company was doing
22 and try to use them as a sounding board as to what the
23 feeling of their communities were towards the Company
24 with issues.
25 Q Who determines who is invited?
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CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A I did initially and then we have a chairman
2 of the group and then I get when members decide that they
3 can no longer serve, then I get input from members of the
4 committee to select new people.
5 Q Is there any attempt to determine that all
6 customer groups are represented in the advisory group?
7 A Generally, I try to do that.
8 Q Can I direct your attention to your
9 testimony on page 3 where you indicate a list of
10 representatives currently invited to attend consumer
11 advisory group meetings? Was this the list that was used
12 with the Company's application in this case?
13 A I'm just trying to think of the time frame
14 that you're asking because --
15 Q The two meetings that we would be talking
16 about, August 29, 2001 and January 24, 2002.
17 A There were member changes during that
18 period of time.
19 Q Who is -- do you know what members would
20 have attended those other meetings that aren't part of
21 this list?
22 A No, I think the ones that attended are in
23 here to those two meetings, are in the testimony. I
24 could read those.
25 Q I think those are on page 4, we'll go
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CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 through those. Who is Roy Smith, chairman of the group?
2 A Roy is principal at Ririe High School which
3 is a small community in our service area just north and
4 east of Idaho Falls.
5 Q I look at all of the other invitees on
6 page 3 and they're all, it looks like, elected positions,
7 county commissioner, mayor, representatives in the
8 legislature, and there doesn't appear to be anybody
9 else.
10 A No. 5, Jeff Siddoway, is a representative
11 from Terreton. He's not an elected official. Richard
12 Westerberg is not an elected official.
13 Q Okay, when you say "representative," you're
14 not talking about the legislature?
15 A Yeah, just from that general area of the
16 Company's service area.
17 Q Okay, maybe we can walk through this list.
18 A Okay.
19 Q Lee Staker is a Bonneville County
20 Commissioner?
21 A Yes. There are other reasons besides him
22 being a commissioner. He also is a Realtor, so that's
23 another reason that he was selected.
24 Q And Joyce Edlefsen, what customer interest
25 group does she represent?
599
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A She's a citizen from St. Anthony. She's
2 also an editor for the Rexburg Standard-Journal and she
3 does also sit on the St. Anthony City Council.
4 Q And Bruce Ard, the mayor; Roy Smith, the
5 principal of Ririe High School; Jeff Siddoway, what
6 interest does he --
7 A He's a rancher from the Mud Lake/Terreton/
8 Monteview area.
9 Q Is he an irrigator?
10 A Yes, he does have irrigation.
11 Q And then the Mayor of Malad, Spence
12 Horsely; Bear Lake County Commissioner Dwight Cochran.
13 Do any of the mayors or the county commissioners bring
14 any other expertise other than their elected position?
15 A Yes, they do. Spence Horsely is the
16 mortician for Malad. I try and pick people who I think
17 have a larger communication with people within the
18 communities that they serve, so a lot of times your
19 politicians, your mayors talk to a lot of people, I
20 think, plus his work. You know, he visits with a lot of
21 people.
22 Q And Dwight Cochran?
23 A County Commissioner, rancher from the Bear
24 Lake area.
25 Q George Wilcox?
600
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A George Wilcox is a retired individual from
2 the Preston area.
3 Q And what expertise does he bring?
4 A Just a member of the community.
5 Q Donna Benfield?
6 A Donna Benfield is president of the Rexburg
7 Chamber of Commerce. She also happens to sit on the
8 Rexburg City Council.
9 Q Diana Richman?
10 A Diana Richman is a representative of a
11 small community north of Rexburg, member of the community
12 active in several civic organizations.
13 Q And Richard Westerberg?
14 A Richard Westerberg is a retired employee of
15 the Company. He also is the economic development
16 director for a four-county area including Oneida, Bear
17 Lake, Franklin and Caribou counties.
18 Q Is this an all-encompassing list of
19 invitees at this time?
20 A Well, it's changed since this was done.
21 One has asked to not attend and I did notice that there
22 was one that was missed and that was a representative
23 from Shelley, Sandy Gaydusac hadn't attended any of the
24 meetings, but she was an invitee.
25 Q And putting together in determining who to
601
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 invite, do you attempt to get a good cross-section of the
2 customer classes that you serve?
3 A We try to, yes.
4 Q And I note that there's no representative
5 in this consumer advisory group from, say, your
6 industrial customers, is there a reason they're not a
7 member of this group?
8 A No, other than they have an account
9 representative from the Company.
10 Q And do you feel that the representatives
11 fairly represent the interests of your residential and
12 commercial classes?
13 A I think they do.
14 Q And I guess there are some small business
15 people here. The individuals that attended the meeting
16 on August 29th, Mary Ann Mounts is --
17 A She was a member. She resigned after that
18 meeting because she took an assignment on the Rexburg
19 hospital board and didn't have time, but she was a
20 previous member.
21 Q And what expertise did she bring?
22 A She was just a local community person. I
23 think she helps out in the schools as a teacher's aid.
24 Q And Heber Hanson?
25 A Heber Hanson, I invited Heber because Sandy
602
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 couldn't make it and so I invited Heber who happened to
2 be the Mayor of Shelley at the time.
3 Q And Roy Smith, the chairman, Joyce Edlefsen
4 and Bruce Ard, Mayor of Hammond, okay, and was there a
5 written notice and agenda that was prepared for the
6 August 29th meeting?
7 A A written notice?
8 Q There was a letter of invitation, I guess?
9 A Yes.
10 Q Did you provide them also with an agenda to
11 discuss on that day?
12 A Yes.
13 Q Can you indicate what was the substance of
14 the conversation with respect to the Company's
15 application in this case?
16 A We just generally went over what the
17 Company was looking for, what the different aspects of
18 the stipulation was.
19 Q At that point did you discuss all of the
20 aspects to the Company's filing; the BPA exchange credit,
21 the mitigation adjustment, the cost of service and the
22 power cost recovery?
23 A You know, I can't say exactly because I
24 don't have the minutes, but generally, I think that most
25 of those items that we knew about would have been
603
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 discussed.
2 Q Are there minutes that are taken at these
3 meetings?
4 A Yes, except that I couldn't find the
5 minutes to one of the meetings, the one where we had Bob
6 Lively and the fellow that came and talked about the
7 Hunter plant.
8 Q Was that the August 29th meeting or the
9 January 24th meeting that you can't find the minutes to?
10 A That would have been the August -- no, that
11 would have been the November meeting.
12 Q What is the Company's practice, I guess,
13 for keeping minutes and filing minutes?
14 A Generally, we do that. I happened to be
15 secretary at that meeting and I don't know what happened
16 to the notes. I couldn't find them.
17 Q Are those minutes circulated?
18 A Yes, they're sent out to the members.
19 Q Just to those that attended?
20 A Yes.
21 Q And to other members of the consumer
22 advisory group?
23 A Yes.
24 Q And are they circulated to anyone within
25 the Company?
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CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 A Yes, I generally send a copy to my direct
2 supervisor.
3 Q And your direct supervisor is who?
4 A Rod Fisher. That changed over this period
5 of time, so it would have been Mike Pomeraine at the
6 time.
7 Q Is that within the communication
8 department?
9 A No, I work for the community and economic
10 development, community services and economic development
11 portion of the Company.
12 Q And you do have a copy of the minutes to
13 the other meeting?
14 A Yes.
15 Q And you'd be prepared to provide those
16 minutes as a late-filed exhibit?
17 A Sure.
18 Q And the attendees at the January 24th
19 meeting, are there any individuals there that we haven't
20 already discussed?
21 A I don't believe so. We did have other
22 people from the Company there. Some of the Company
23 employees will generally attend.
24 Q Okay, and it's your belief, then, at the
25 August 29th meeting that the Company's plan was discussed
605
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 in full and do you recall what feedback you had from this
2 consumer group?
3 A There were a few questions asked, nothing
4 of major significance was brought up, particularly in
5 light that there were not any significant increases, so I
6 don't think that it was an issue.
7 Q On August 29th was there initially a
8 Company presentation?
9 A Yes, uh-huh.
10 Q And was that by you?
11 A Yes, myself and I believe Bob Lively was
12 there.
13 Q And do you recall how much time was spent?
14 A Oh, probably about 45 minutes in
15 presentation. We have kind of a sandwich forum earlier
16 and we have just general conversation before.
17 Q Was there any general discussion regarding
18 the type of notice which would be provided to customers?
19 A I don't think so, not to my recollection.
20 Q Do you know whether there was any
21 conversation with respect to notice at the January 24th
22 meeting?
23 A No.
24 Q Did you have -- did you set up any meetings
25 regarding this application targeted at the residential
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CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 and commercial classes?
2 A I didn't target the residential customers
3 other than all of the irrigation people that attend our
4 meetings are also residential customers.
5 MR. WOODBURY: Thank you, Mr. Pond.
6 Madam Chair, no further questions.
7 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thank you,
8 Mr. Woodbury.
9 Mr. Shurtz, do you have any questions?
10 MR. SHURTZ: Yes.
11
12 CROSS-EXAMINATION
13
14 BY MR. SHURTZ:
15 Q Mr. Pond, No. 1, the Bonneville County
16 Commissioner, Lee Staker, is he an Utah Power user?
17 A Yes, he is. His residence is on our
18 service.
19 Q Okay. Also, your advisory group, do you
20 have any future meetings? Is this going to be a
21 continual thing or do you have or was this to prepare for
22 the application of the Company for the recovery of costs?
23 A No, it's an ongoing function.
24 Q Okay. Also, what responsibilities does
25 this advisory group have to pass on that information to
607
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 their friends and neighbors or the general public?
2 A I don't think they have any responsibility
3 at all other than we request that they take the
4 information that we give them and share it with those
5 that they talk to.
6 Q Also, you mentioned earlier that you had
7 spoke to some Kiwanis clubs in Mr. Eskelsen's testimony.
8 I don't see that on yours. Other than the irrigation
9 people who are also, as you said also, residential users
10 as well, did you have any discussions with any other
11 civic organizations or groups?
12 A I can't -- I know that I had some
13 conversations with a Rotary group, but I can't
14 specifically remember the date, so I didn't list it.
15 Q Did you -- when they filed the documents at
16 the places of business that Utah Power has throughout
17 eastern Idaho at their offices, did you inspect all those
18 places to make sure the information was correctly put
19 out?
20 A No, I didn't do any inspections. That's
21 not part of my function.
22 MR. SHURTZ: Okay. I guess that's all I
23 have.
24 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thank you,
25 Mr. Shurtz.
608
CSB REPORTING POND (X)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Do we have questions from the Commission?
2 Commissioner Hansen.
3 COMMISSIONER HANSEN: Yes.
4
5 EXAMINATION
6
7 BY COMMISSIONER HANSEN:
8 Q Mr. Pond, on page 2, lines 17 through 21,
9 you talk about meeting with the consumer advisory group
10 to discuss this power cost recovery and you talk about
11 the meetings taking place on August the 29th and
12 January 24th, 2002. How often does the consumer advisory
13 group meet? Do they meet monthly, quarterly or just when
14 you call a meeting or when do they meet?
15 A Well, it's been a little erratic, but
16 generally, I have at least four meetings a year. We try
17 to meet every other month, but it depends on the
18 schedules of the attendees. In fact, we have a meeting
19 Thursday night.
20 Q Did this group meet between January the
21 24th and June of 2002?
22 A I can't recall. I'd have to look. I think
23 we met in April, but I'm not sure, so I can't answer the
24 question because I don't have my information, but it
25 seems to me that we met in April.
609
CSB REPORTING POND (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q But you think you met in April?
2 A Yes.
3 Q I'm just kind of curious because right in
4 April seems to be when this was a big issue and yet, you
5 don't really reference that meeting at all of discussing
6 it with the people. I mean, you talk about on August in
7 2001 and then on January and I guess my question would be
8 if you met in August [sic], why wouldn't you have
9 discussed the status of this with the group?
10 A As I recall, I made the presentation during
11 that April meeting, not August that you referred to, it
12 was an April meeting, and I talked about, and I'd have to
13 verify the date, but I think I talked about the customer
14 guarantees on our performance that the Company admit as
15 far as the merger commitments were concerned, but there
16 wasn't a lot of interest from the members to discuss this
17 particular issue because we had already covered it in two
18 other meetings.
19 Q Just summing up and I know you've talked
20 with Mr. Woodbury a little bit about the group, but what
21 is the purpose of that group?
22 A Well, the purpose of the group is to give
23 them information concerning what the Company is doing in
24 the area, trying to get feedback from them as to how
25 we're perceived in the communities, what we need to do to
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CSB REPORTING POND (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 be a better partner in the communities, those type of
2 things.
3 Q I guess a question I'd have is as you met
4 with the group, did they have any concerns with this
5 surcharge proposal or did they seem to be agreeable to
6 your presentation or can you recall?
7 A Commissioner, I think there weren't a whole
8 lot of questions. One of the things that probably
9 received more questions than anything in the particular
10 meetings that we attended was the removal of the control
11 program from the irrigation customers, the A, B & C
12 schedules so that they weren't being controlled and that
13 was a bigger issue to the groups that we spoke to than
14 anything else.
15 Q So you think, then, that many of these
16 people went back to their area and if the subject came
17 up, they were supportive of the surcharge then?
18 A I wouldn't necessarily say that. I would
19 hope that when they go back and talk in the coffee shops
20 or wherever, you know, I'm sure that that was probably an
21 item of discussion, but it's hard to know what they do
22 when they leave the meeting. They might appear to us to
23 be positive and when they go out into the community, they
24 could be less than positive. I don't know. I know we
25 did get a feedback from one customer that was positive
611
CSB REPORTING POND (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 with what we brought.
2 Q So like on the meeting in January, you
3 wouldn't ask these people if they would go back and
4 dispense this information in their area and get a
5 feedback so when you would meet the next time they would
6 be able to give you a feel of how it was accepted or felt
7 in their area?
8 A I didn't ask them that specifically, no.
9 Q When you did discuss this subject with this
10 consumer advisory group, did you feel that they
11 understood it well enough to be able to explain it to
12 constituents in their area?
13 A I can't answer for them.
14 Q You wouldn't know?
15 A I wouldn't know.
16 Q Do you have a high turnover, I'm just kind
17 of curious because you talked about different people now
18 on the committee, do you have a high turnover on that?
19 A "High" is a relative term. I don't think
20 that we have a real high turnover. We have had a couple
21 of resignations recently, so we'll be filling a couple of
22 positions, but I don't think it's really high. You know,
23 maybe on a percentage basis because there's about 12
24 members that it's high. I don't know, it's all relative,
25 I guess.
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CSB REPORTING POND (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q Just one last question. I guess I'm just
2 trying to get a feel, you present this information to
3 this advisory group and then there's really no follow-up
4 or no contact with this group as far as feedback from
5 their area, that you said you'd call them from different
6 areas so they represent different groups of people, so
7 it's just kind of like they get the information and then
8 you expect if they have a problem they'll get back, if
9 they don't say anything, then you figure all is well, is
10 that kind of what you do?
11 A Well, that and then I have personal contact
12 with these individuals outside of the meeting. Normally
13 I bring that up and ask them what kind of feedback
14 they're getting in the community. I don't do it formally
15 in the meeting, but I do it with them individually when I
16 visit with them.
17 Q So in this case, this particular issue, you
18 got with the members and asked them if they were getting
19 any feedback on it?
20 A Some of them I did.
21 Q What did they tell you?
22 A That it didn't appear to be a big issue.
23 Q Did they indicate they had talked to a lot
24 of people?
25 A I didn't ask them.
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CSB REPORTING POND (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 Q So you just don't know?
2 A No.
3 COMMISSIONER HANSEN: Okay, thank you.
4 That's all I have.
5
6 EXAMINATION
7
8 BY COMMISSIONER SMITH:
9 Q Mr. Pond, I just have one question. I got
10 confused in some of your responses to Mr. Woodbury. I
11 thought I heard you mention a November meeting, was there
12 a November meeting?
13 A Not other than the one that we held here,
14 not with the consumer advisory group.
15 Q So if you discussed -- if you referred to a
16 November meeting, it was a misstatement?
17 A Yes, sorry.
18 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Okay, thank you.
19 Is there redirect, Mr. Fell?
20 MR. FELL: Yes, thank you.
21
22
23
24
25
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CSB REPORTING POND (Com)
Wilder, Idaho 83676 PacifiCorp
1 REDIRECT EXAMINATION
2
3 BY MR. FELL:
4 Q Mr. Pond, are you familiar with the other
5 electric utilities that provide service in southeast
6 Idaho?
7 A Somewhat.
8 Q Are you generally familiar with the kind of
9 community outreach and participation that they
10 experience?
11 A I try and follow that, yes.
12 Q And in the case of the City of Idaho Falls,
13 are you aware of what kind of rate increase activity
14 they've had?
15 A Yeah, I noticed that, oh, sometime ago they
16 had about a 25 percent increase and then about a month
17 ago I think they had another 28 percent increase.
18 Q And what kind of consumer participation do
19 they have in their meetings?
20 A My understanding, and I wasn't at their
21 city council meeting, but I understood there was only one
22 party there to discuss it, but that was secondhand.
23 Q In the context of the expectations of the
24 people in southeast Idaho, do you believe that these
25 consumer advisory groups serve a useful function from
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1 their perspective?
2 A I don't know, I would hope so.
3 Q Why is that? Elaborate a little bit.
4 A Well, we like to be a partner with the
5 communities that we serve. We try to be visible in our
6 communities. We try to help our communities by way of
7 economic development. We do have a contributions program
8 that we try and help with community projects, so we're
9 actively trying to participate with our communities,
10 schools and others in the area on a continual basis.
11 MR. FELL: No further questions.
12 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thank you, Mr. Fell.
13 Thank you, Mr. Pond.
14 (The witness left the stand.)
15 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Do you have further
16 witnesses, Mr. Fell?
17 MR. FELL: No further witnesses.
18 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Do you have witnesses,
19 Mr. Woodbury?
20 MR. WOODBURY: Madam Chair, no, Staff has
21 no witnesses.
22 COMMISSIONER SMITH: It seems to bring us
23 to the end of the witnesses.
24 MR. FELL: Yes, it does.
25 MR. SHURTZ: May I ask a follow-up
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1 question?
2 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Who would you ask that
3 to, Mr. Shurtz?
4 MR. SHURTZ: Mr. Pond, just some
5 information that I'd like to see provided to the
6 Commission.
7 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Just a second, do you
8 have any objection, Mr. Fell, to Mr. Pond being recalled
9 to answer Mr. Shurtz's question?
10 MR. FELL: I do not.
11 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Mr. Pond, would you
12 please retake the stand? We'll just give him a minute to
13 get there, Mr. Shurtz.
14 MR. SHURTZ: Okay.
15
16 GLEN POND,
17 produced as a witness at the instance of PacifiCorp,
18 having been previously duly sworn, resumed the stand and
19 was further examined and testified as follows:
20
21 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Okay, you can go ahead
22 now.
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1 CROSS-EXAMINATION
2
3 BY MR. SHURTZ:
4 Q Mr. Pond, I am looking at Exhibit 33,
5 page 1, I see your informational meetings with customers
6 regarding this case. I don't see anything after
7 03/29/02. Is there -- do you have any records of any
8 meetings in April or early May other than the public
9 hearings, any informational meetings that you held?
10 A I don't.
11 MR. SHURTZ: Okay, that's all I have.
12 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Okay, thank you.
13 Did that cause any redirect, Mr. Fell?
14 MR. FELL: No, it does not. Thank you.
15 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Thank you again,
16 Mr. Pond.
17 (The witness left the stand.)
18 COMMISSIONER SMITH: It appears that that
19 brings us to the completion of today's evidentiary
20 hearing.
21 MR. FELL: Madam Chair, I have a list of
22 three items that have been requested as late-filed
23 exhibits. Shall I read them through and see whether
24 people agree? I understand that the Staff would like us
25 to file the communications plan. That may be one or two
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1 documents. I'm not sure whether it's all in one
2 document.
3 Second, they would like us to file a copy
4 of a bill message or was it the bill message for the
5 February BPA change, Mr. Woodbury?
6 MR. WOODBURY: That's correct. It's my
7 understanding that the Company has two bill messages in
8 this case, one at the February 1st BPA credit and then at
9 the conclusion of the case, and I would like for the
10 Company to provide both of those if they could.
11 MR. FELL: All right, I can say that I have
12 seen bill messages for the final rate change. I haven't
13 seen a bill message for the BPA change, but we will see
14 whether one was sent out and we will provide whatever
15 bill messages were sent, and then third, the minutes to
16 the one meeting that Mr. Pond attended with the customer
17 advisory group for which the minutes were prepared and
18 where he has those available.
19 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Okay.
20 MR. WOODBURY: The minutes of the meeting,
21 is that what we're talking about?
22 MR. FELL: Yes.
23 MR. WOODBURY: I understand that the
24 minutes that are available are January 24th and although
25 he's not able to find any minutes for August 29th,
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1 perhaps the Company could search again if they can find
2 those minutes and provide them, too.
3 MR. FELL: If we can locate the August
4 minutes, we will do that and then we have the question of
5 filing written briefs. I was planning if today went
6 quickly to just make an oral argument at the end and
7 leave the brief out of it, but I think at this point I'm
8 inclined to file a brief. We will rely on the petition
9 for reconsideration and not repeat all of that. We will
10 just supplement that with what has occurred today and our
11 final observations.
12 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Okay, and how long
13 will that take you to prepare?
14 MR. WOODBURY: We have as part of the
15 scheduling in this case established a September 27th
16 prefile date for posthearing briefs.
17 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Is that 2-7?
18 MR. WOODBURY: 2-7.
19 COMMISSIONER SMITH: Does that work for
20 you, Mr. Fell?
21 MR. FELL: Yes, that's excellent.
22 COMMISSIONER SMITH: So anyone wishing
23 to file a brief should do so on or before
24 September 27th. I assume there's no provision for
25 replies.
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1 MR. FELL: I believe the record has to be
2 submitted by that date under the reconsideration rules,
3 so that would be it.
4 COMMISSIONER SMITH: That would be it. All
5 right, I want to thank everyone for their attendance and
6 interest today and their cooperation in having the
7 hearing go smoothly. We will await your briefs on the
8 27th and issue an order as soon thereafter as possible
9 but certainly within the time required by statute.
10 Thank you. We're adjourned.
11 (The Hearing adjourned at 2:20 p.m.)
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1 AUTHENTICATION
2
3
4 This is to certify that the foregoing
5 proceedings held in the matter of the application of
6 PacifiCorp dba Utah Power & Light Company for approval of
7 changes to its electric service schedules, commencing at
8 9:30 a.m., on Tuesday, September 10, 2002, at the
9 Commission Hearing Room, 472 West Washington, Boise,
10 Idaho, is a true and correct transcript of said
11 proceedings and the original thereof for the file of the
12 Commission.
13 Accuracy of all prefiled testimony as
14 originally submitted to the Reporter and incorporated
15 herein at the direction of the Commission is the sole
16 responsibility of the submitting parties.
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CONSTANCE S. BUCY
21 Certified Shorthand Reporter #187
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