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HomeMy WebLinkAbout20230425Customer Hearing Transcript 4-18-2023.pdf1 BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION IN THE MATTER OF ROCKY MOUNTAIN ) Case No. POWER'S APPLICATION FOR AUTHORITY ) PAC-E-22-15 TO IMPLEMENT THE RESIDENTIAL RATE ) Customer MODERNIZATION PLAN ) Hearing ) Order No. ) 35689 CUSTOMER HEARING April 18, 2023 REPORTED BY: AMBER S. WILLIAMS, C.S.R. No. 1080 Notary public 2 1 THE CUSTOMER HEARING was held before the 2 Idaho Public Utilities Commission at the Upper Snake 3 Regional Office-Idaho Department of Fish and Game, 4 4279 Commerce Circle Idaho Falls, Idaho, commencing 5 at 6:00 p.m. on April 18, 2023, before Amber S. 6 Williams, Certified Shorthand Reporter and Notary 7 Public within and for the State of Idaho, in the 8 above-entitled matter. 9 10 APPEARANCES: 11 Commissioner Eric Anderson 12 Commissioner John Hammond 13 Deputy Attorney General Claire Sharp 14 Mark Alder, Rocky Mountain Power 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 3 1 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Good evening. This 2 is the time and place for the customer hearing in 3 Case No. PAC-E-22-15, also referred to as the matter 4 of Rocky Mountain Power's Application for Authority 5 to Implement the Residential Rate Modernization Plan. 6 The purpose of this hearing is to take 7 testimony from members of the public in reference to 8 Rocky Mountain Power's requests that was filled -- 9 was filed with the Commission on October 20th, 2022. 10 I'm stumbling over my tongue. I'll try to improve 11 upon that. 12 My name is Commissioner Eric Anderson. 13 I'm the chair of tonight's proceedings, and I'm 14 joined with Commissioner Hammond to my right, and we 15 comprise the commission in this case and we will 16 collectively make a final determination on this 17 matter. 18 To this point, several parties have 19 intervened and a public workshop has been held at 20 both the Company and the Public Utilities Commission. 21 Tonight's objective it to take live public testimony 22 which will be added to the underlying record in the 23 case. The commissioners will review the facts and 24 evidence in the record to make a final decision of 25 these proceedings. Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 4 1 For those of you that are wishing to 2 submit written comments, the deadline was Tuesday, 3 April 11th, 5 p.m. However, we do have comment 4 sheets available tonight and -- that you may leave 5 with our public information officer, Adam Rush, who 6 is walking over there. We have not very many people 7 signed up tonight. 8 So normally, in the conservation of 9 time, we would put a time limit on it, but I believe 10 that we'll -- if you go too long, we'll give you a 11 little bump. But you can speak for -- you know, get 12 your point across, please. 13 As far as procedure goes this evening, I 14 will call your name from the sign-up sheets and you 15 will take the stand and you will be sworn in. I will 16 ask you -- Claire will ask you to raise your right 17 hand and swear or affirm that the testimony you are 18 providing is the whole truth. The deputy attorney 19 general, Ms. Claire Sharp, will follow that 20 procedure. 21 In that process, please include your 22 name, spell your last name, and your city of 23 residence, and also notify whether or not you are a 24 customer of Rocky Mountain Power, then you may 25 present your testimony. Please remain at the podium Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 5 1 in case the commissioners have any questions or the 2 parties that are relevant. 3 I want to take this opportunity to 4 remind anyone who plans to offer testimony tonight 5 that the substance of your testimony should focus 6 only on the matters before us on this docket. Any 7 testimony that focuses on policy issues that we, as 8 economic regulators, do not have authority over or 9 the ability to change should be directed instead to 10 the appropriate decisionmaking body. 11 While we invite and encourage anyone who 12 wishes to testify to do so tonight, we want to 13 respect the time of those who came prepared to 14 testify on the merits of the matters this commission 15 will ultimately be deciding and ensure the record 16 contains relevant testimony to help us make our final 17 decision. 18 As you provide your testimony tonight, 19 please remember that decorum of this proceeding is 20 similar to a court room. The comments should be 21 directed to the commissioners and not members of the 22 audience. 23 For those in the audience, we ask you to 24 refrain from reacting to any testimony while it is 25 being presented or after. That means no clapping, no Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 6 1 verbal comment, and we appreciate your willingness to 2 respect this process. 3 Since our cases are judicial in nature, 4 we have a court reporter tonight, Amber Williams. 5 Please don't speak too softly or too fast, or we will 6 need to remind you to please slow down, and we'll 7 give you a nudge if you are speaking too softly. The 8 transcript is necessary because, in our clause as a 9 judicial role, we must base our decisions on an 10 official record, of which this is a part of, and that 11 record is also significant in the event that our 12 decision is appealed. 13 Let's continue with the appearance of 14 the parties. We have the applicant, Rocky Mountain 15 Power. Please identify your party. 16 MARK ALDER: Yeah. Mark Alder with Rocky 17 Mountain Power. 18 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Very good. 19 Now to Deputy Attorney General. 20 CLAIRE SHARP: Claire Sharp. 21 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Clean Energy 22 Opportunities of Idaho? Not here. 23 Idaho Conservation League? Not here. 24 Northwest Energy Coalition? Not here. 25 Are there any other parties to this case Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 7 1 that need to be recognized that I may have missed? 2 Seeing none, with that we are ready to 3 call our first witness. 4 So Mr. David Olson, please come forward. 5 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear that the 6 testimony you are about to give is the truth? 7 DAVIS OLSON: Yes. 8 CLAIRE SHARP: Could you please state and 9 spell your name for the record. 10 DAVID OLSON: David Olson, O-l-s-o-n. 11 CLAIRE SHARP: And in which city do you 12 reside? 13 DAVID OLSON: Idaho Falls. 14 CLAIRE SHARP: And are you a customer? 15 DAVID OLSON: I am. 16 CLAIRE SHARP: Please proceed. 17 DAVID OLSON: I want to thank the 18 commissioners for making the long distance to get 19 here to listen to my comments. As you know, I have 20 submitted written comments and I have reviewed them 21 several times, and so -- and I still feel they are 22 appropriate on there. I just -- also just received 23 my last current bill today, so I'm -- it's right in 24 harmony with the others on there. 25 Just for your information, I am a Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 8 1 low-kilowatt user. My bill for this last month is 2 260. So when I speak, I am speaking from a low-user 3 kilowatt. 4 And with regard to Rocky Mountain 5 Power's submission, I understand -- I understand 6 their purpose for -- I think I understand their 7 purpose for wanting this additional service money. 8 However, I want to make it -- with regard to that, I 9 would like to make my comments directed to that 10 specific type of -- of fund collecting. 11 I am of the opinion that the power that 12 I receive is a product and not a service because I 13 only want kilowatts on there, and I have a line 14 directly that comes from my house. I understand a 15 new customer that comes in does have a connect fee, 16 so -- thereby, I believe that that makes it pretty 17 firm that they are providing an item. And the system 18 that they have, including all their stations, I 19 consider as a conduit to getting an end product which 20 is kilowatts. 21 Now, with regard -- and so with that in 22 mind, I am of the opinion that there should be no 23 service call, that their income should come from one 24 source, and that is the sale of kilowatts to people 25 that is a 100 percent user of their service -- their Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 9 1 capabilities. 2 I would like to expand with regard to 3 the -- what happens with -- in my case, with this 4 increased service. For example, today on my bill I 5 consider the service that they have -- the $8 fee as 6 representing approximately 25 percent of my total 7 bill. For the current part, if I was using 8 900 kilowatts, it would only represent 9 percent of 9 the total bill -- this -- this kind of service. 10 So with regard to that, if that 11 five-year process was in effect today and I used the 12 same amount of kilowatts, the service amount would 13 equal 61 percent of my total bill. And I've used 14 only -- I used -- in relationship to that, I used 15 only the service bit and their energy charge cost on 16 there. I consider that being unfair to the low users 17 because, if you take that and average out the price 18 per kilowatt, my 260 total kilowatt use would be 19 quite a bit higher than that projected same 20 percentage for someone that was using 500 or 800. 21 You see, as it goes up, the actual kilowatt cost, 22 mine would be higher. The lower it goes, it would be 23 higher because you have the same base cost that goes 24 in, therefore I believe that that is not a fair and 25 equitable treatment of all customers and that's why I Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 10 1 think that they should only have one process of 2 coming in where everyone would pay the same amount of 3 money for kilowatt, and there would be no room for 4 anybody to say I'm being -- not being treated 5 properly. 6 So with regard to that, I think that I 7 speak pretty fairly for all low users of kilowatt 8 usage on that. And I thank you for listening to me. 9 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Olson. 10 Are there any questions from the 11 Company? There are none. 12 Any questions from Staff. 13 Thank you, Mr. Olson, for your 14 testimony. 15 Next on our list we have Jeremy -- 16 JEREMY GNEITING: -- Gneiting. 17 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: -- Gneiting. 18 JEREMY GNEITING: Yeah. 19 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear or affirm that 20 the testimony you are about to give is the truth? 21 JEREMY GNEITING: Yes. 22 CLAIRE SHARP: And could you please state and 23 spell your name for the record. 24 JEREMY GNEITING: Jeremy Gneiting. Gneiting 25 is spelled G-n-e-i-t-i-n-g. Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 11 1 CLAIRE SHARP: In which city do you reside? 2 JEREMY GNEITING: Rigby. 3 CLAIRE SHARP: And are you a customer? 4 JEREMY GNEITING: Yes. 5 CLAIRE SHARP: Please proceed. 6 JEREMY GNEITING: Thank you. Thank you. 7 Yeah, so I just built a house last year in Rigby and 8 I -- I paid Rocky Mountain Power to bring power out 9 to the house, so -- you know, I paid quite a bit of 10 money to get that service, right? And at the time -- 11 and -- and I am, like, just a regular house user, 12 but -- it's just a single-family home, right? But 13 I've got lots of kid that don't turn off lights. 14 Anyway, I -- to offset those costs, I 15 just barely put in a solar system. And the idea was 16 I could, you know, offset that energy cost and save 17 some money and with -- with this new -- I don't know 18 what you call it -- thing -- this idea -- what is it 19 called? But I won't be able to -- I don't know if my 20 math works out that I will be able to afford both the 21 solar payment and the Rocky Mountain Power bills as 22 they go up in price just for that access fee. 23 It's -- and I did submit a written 24 testimony online, and I just think, in a way, it -- 25 it definitely doesn't benefit the single-family user. Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 12 1 It benefits the heavy users that are corporations or 2 businesses, and I just wanted to come here and give 3 testimony that I -- I think we have a -- you know, we 4 are paying for energy, and that access is part of it. 5 And I'm a businessman. I understand all 6 these different costs and why you're doing what 7 you're doing. I just think the model that you have 8 has already been set and it's already agreed upon, 9 and I -- I think that this will only benefit the 10 larger corporations and businesses and it doesn't 11 really help the normal day-to-day user as much as it 12 would. 13 And I also think that it decentivizes 14 (sic) putting in solar and doing anything green 15 energywise to help the -- to help, you know, the 16 increase in people, right? So that's all I have. 17 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you, 18 Mr. Gneiting. 19 Are there any questions from the Company 20 or Staff? 21 CLAIRE SHARP: None. 22 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you for your 23 testimony. Thank you for your written testimony, 24 also. 25 Steven Prescott? Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 13 1 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear or affirm that 2 the testimony you are about to give is the truth? 3 STEVEN PRESCOTT: Yes. 4 CLAIRE SHARP: Could you please state and 5 spell your name for the record. 6 STEVEN PRESCOTT: Steven Prescott. 7 S-t-e-v-e-n, Prescott P-r-e-s-c-o-t-t. 8 CLAIRE SHARP: And which city do you reside? 9 STEVEN PRESCOTT: Rigby, Idaho. 10 CLAIRE SHARP: Are you a customer? 11 STEVEN PRESCOTT: Yes. 12 CLAIRE SHARP: Please proceed. 13 STEVEN PRESCOTT: I just want to state that 14 all the changes that Rocky Mountain has planned for 15 this, they directly benefit and stabilize the 16 long-term profits to Rocky Mountain Power. This 17 seems like to be a poorly veiled attempt to disguise 18 it as a benefit to those that are disadvantaged. All 19 those things would give them a solid -- or, a fixed 20 income -- or, a fixed-price income for those that 21 would not be adjusted because of the change in power 22 prices. 23 I understand there's maintenance costs 24 that Rocky Mountain Power needs to cover, however, 25 they have not shown that there is an increase in the Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 14 1 maintenance cost that they currently have. And if 2 they do provide that increase in maintenance cost, it 3 cannot include large projects or other things that 4 they are expanding or things like that. And if they 5 can show that there's actually the increased 6 maintenance cost versus what they used to have, then 7 I can see that being a justification of why we need 8 to increase that. But it should be matching what 9 that increase -- you know, according to inflation or 10 other things like that, that should match that and 11 not just be a fixed increase because they want to 12 change their revenue schemes. 13 And then -- let's see here. The -- I 14 understand they are doing a change in time of day at 15 the same time. That -- that does make sense because 16 you know, the pricing of power is changing. So why 17 was that not set as its own thing instead of being 18 bundled in with this? And that also could be 19 disguised because they are losing money because of 20 solar power, solar systems. They're losing that 21 revenue because of the time of day change. I 22 understand that one. But I also want to state that 23 this goes against our national goals of reducing 24 our -- or, becoming more net zero by reducing 25 incentives for people to actually become more net Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 15 1 zero. This is taking away from those people who are 2 trying to do their best to conserve energy and giving 3 a bonus to people who are not, and that doesn't make 4 any sense as far as our strategy as a nation goes. 5 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you, 6 Mr. Prescott. 7 Are there questions from the Company? 8 Staff? 9 Thank you very much for your testimony. 10 Okay. Kit Menlove? 11 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear or affirm that 12 the testimony you are about to give is the truth? 13 KIT MENLOVE: I do. 14 CLAIRE SHARP: And could you please state and 15 spell your name for the record? 16 KIT MENLOVE: Kit Menlove, K-i-t 17 M-e-n-l-o-v-e. 18 CLAIRE SHARP: And in which city do you 19 reside? 20 KIT MENLOVE: Idaho Falls. 21 CLAIRE SHARP: And are you a customer? 22 KIT MENLOVE: I am. 23 CLAIRE SHARP: Thank you. 24 KIT MENLOVE: Okay. Yeah, I just want to 25 concur with much of what's been said already, and Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 16 1 many of the comments that have been submitted online 2 that it does -- this -- particularly the portion of 3 the rate modernization proposal that they want to 4 increase the base rate by, like -- what is it? -- 366 5 percent or nearly 400 percent over five years. 6 That -- that will -- I mean, I agree that it does 7 disincentivize conservation efforts and it does put 8 more weight, more burden on the smaller and lower 9 income families. 10 But my primary concern is really the 11 rate in which they plan to do this. They're going 12 from $8 to nearly $30 -- 29.25 in just a matter of 13 five years. That seems like a really quick and 14 aggressive increase in their -- in their base rate. 15 I understand that a lot of the utility 16 companies in our state are a lot higher than their 17 current rate at $8, and I understand their desire to 18 move towards the mean and, you know, get somewhere 19 around the $20 mark, which seems to be the mean about 20 now which is -- right next door, our Idaho Falls 21 Power is at $20 for households. So I understand 22 their desire to get to that point. 23 But going from the low end at $8 to 24 really the high end in -- in terms of our state at 25 29.25 in a matter of just five years just seems Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 17 1 really quick and really aggressive. And like one of 2 the other people who testified, I also installed some 3 solar panels just a little bit ago and was kind of 4 calculating that there would be modest increases in 5 my electrical bill over time but nothing to that 6 degree, nothing that quick. And with all the other 7 inflation and things going on, I just feel that 8 it's -- it's really not appropriate at this time to 9 have that fast of an increase. 10 It's basically -- if you average it out 11 over the next five years, it's like a 30 percent 12 increase each year for five years in the base rate. 13 And for those who really don't use a lot of 14 electricity and who cover a good chunk of their 15 electricity through the alternative generation 16 methods like solar, it really does have an impact. I 17 calculated that it would cost me -- cost our family 18 about $150 more per year due to this change, and that 19 does have an impact. It does add up. 20 And so I -- I encourage you to help to 21 scale this back a little bit so that they -- as they 22 increase their base rate, it's at a much more modest 23 rate. You know, maybe 10 to 15 percent per year is 24 what I would suggest might be more reasonable. 25 So that is what I would like to comment Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 18 1 on and I appreciate your time. 2 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you. 3 Are there any questions from the company 4 or staff? 5 CLAIRE SHARP: No. 6 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you for your 7 testimony. 8 Brett Parkinson? 9 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear or affirm that 10 the testimony you are about to give is the truth? 11 BRETT PARKINSON: Yes, as far as I know. 12 CLAIRE SHARP: And could you please state and 13 spell your name for the record. 14 BRETT PARKINSON: Brett Parkinson, 15 P-a-r-k-i-n-s-o-n. 16 CLAIRE SHARP: And in which city do you 17 reside? 18 BRETT PARKINSON: Rexburg. 19 CLAIRE SHARP: And are you a customer? 20 BRETT PARKINSON: Yes, I am. 21 CLAIRE SHARP: Thank you. 22 BRETT PARKINSON: I came to the workshop that 23 was held last month, and prior to that, I did some 24 calculating on my own power bills, went back through 25 two years and calculated how this change, if Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 19 1 approved, would affect me. And there's only 2 typically one month out of the year it would even 3 break even for me because I, like a lot of the 4 others -- some of the others that have testified, 5 submitted comments that I am a low-kilowatt user and 6 that my heating space and water is heated with 7 natural gas. And I've experienced my highest gas 8 bill ever this last winter because of the current -- 9 I contribute that to the current administration's war 10 on fossil fuels which has made the cost of natural 11 gas go higher. 12 But as I went back through my two years 13 of bills, I noticed that back in January of 2022, 14 Rocky Mountain Power increased the service charge 15 from $5 to $8; so that was a 60 percent increase 16 then. Also, there was an increase in the -- I'm not 17 sure if it was first- or second-tier rates that I 18 noticed them. And then also in June of 2022, there 19 was an increase in rates. 20 But the reason I'm testifying tonight is 21 because I believe that this -- this supposedly 22 modernization of rates would unduly discriminate 23 against the low-kilowatt users. It would be a 24 significant increase for most low-kilowatt users in 25 that they would have to use a minimum of 800 Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 20 1 kilowatts each month just to break even with the -- 2 what they're paying now. 3 And as I know, it's -- we're kind of 4 over a barrel since Rocky Mountain Power is the only 5 provider we have the opportunity to get our 6 electrical from unless we choose to install solar 7 panels or some sort of other generating mechanism. I 8 haven't explored that myself because I've always just 9 thought that would be cost prohibitive. 10 But it looks to me like this 11 modernization act would incentivize higher-power use 12 which would just be added expense. And I don't know 13 that Rocky Mountain won't be trying to raise the 14 rates down the road anyway. 15 Under this act, they would be lowering 16 the kilowatt hour rate. But I suspect down the road, 17 just like we've seen in the past, there will be 18 continual proposals to increase those rates. 19 But I just want to reiterate that I 20 don't believe this is a fair deal. If they want to 21 raise it, they need to find a program that doesn't 22 negatively infect -- or, negatively affect the 23 low-kilowatt users. That's all I have to say. 24 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you, 25 Mr. Parkinson. Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 21 1 Any questions? 2 Thank you for your testimony. 3 Becky Harrison? I think you came in -- 4 I got you at the last of the list here. 5 BECKY HARRISON: You're okay. It was good to 6 listen to everyone else. 7 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear or affirm that 8 the testimony you're about to give is the truth? 9 BECKY HARRISON: Yes. 10 CLAIRE SHARP: And could you please state and 11 spell your name for the record. 12 BECKY HARRISON: Becky B-e-c-k-y, Harrison 13 H-a-r-r-i-s-o-n. 14 CLAIRE SHARP: And in which city do you 15 reside? 16 BECKY HARRISON: Rigby. 17 CLAIRE SHARP: And are you a customer? 18 BECKY HARRISON: Yes. 19 CLAIRE SHARP: Please proceed. 20 BECKY HARRISON: Well, thank you so much for 21 listening to us tonight. I'm not going to repeat a 22 bunch of what's already been said because I do 23 actually work on the Rigby city council and I know 24 what it's like to be at a public hearing for three 25 and a half hours and hear the same testimonies over Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 22 1 and over. 2 But one thing I want to point out and 3 read is a piece of Rocky Mountain Power's -- I guess 4 you would call it a press release that they sent out 5 to their customers explaining this modernization. 6 And it's on the second page, it's the third paragraph 7 down. In the very end, it's outlining how many 8 customers will actually see just such a minimal 9 increase in their bill, $4, et cetera, et cetera. 10 And then the last line says: Generally, 11 for customers who use more energy than average, their 12 bills would decrease. 13 I cannot tell you how much that bothered 14 me when I read that. Why -- I mean, I'm only 39 15 years old, but I can remember in elementary school 16 being taught about energy conservation and trying to 17 be smart about how we use our energy, and now we're 18 in this day and age where -- I mean, solar power has 19 been talked a lot about tonight -- leaps and bounds 20 to try and increase the technology to help with this 21 energy crisis that we have in our world. 22 And here specifically in Idaho, in 23 Rigby, we have seen historic growth. Jefferson 24 County has the highest growth, at least they did in 25 2022, of people moving to our area, bringing Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 23 1 customers in, more hookup charges, more customers 2 that will be using those kilowatts. And I've also 3 seen historically -- I went and looked back 15, 20 4 years -- utility companies in the last three to five 5 years have been asking for increases more than I had 6 seen in the last 10 to 15. 7 It was already pointed out that we had 8 an increase in 2022. Here we are towards the end of 9 2022 after that increase already happened, they're 10 asking for more, and now they're asking for a huge 11 increase. 12 I'm in a similar situation. I also 13 chose to recently put in solar. For about four 14 years, my husband and I studied and studied, we 15 saved, we put in different appliances because we have 16 a very large home, lots of kids. We use a ton of 17 energy and we started to feel I guess guilty is 18 probably the right word. We started to feel bad that 19 we were using so much. I mean, like, 1,600 kilowatts 20 a month. We are a big, single-family-home user, and 21 so we thought, "How can we do this?" But I wanted to 22 have all of the finances lined up. I wanted it to be 23 just right. So we, you know, replaced appliances and 24 changed to natural gas that we felt like would be 25 enough of a change. We cut trees. We made it smart Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 24 1 until we finally put in our system. And that was a 2 huge investment for a young family with young 3 children to put that money into solar, because we 4 felt like we were helping an energy situation, that 5 we were being a good example, that we would try and 6 help. 7 Solar users have already been 8 discouraged by Rocky Mountain Power. The changes 9 that have been approved and how they handle the extra 10 solar that we may create as a household has already 11 been very discouraging which is why we chose to make 12 sure that we were only putting enough panels on to 13 try and cover ours. Not to generate any extra, not 14 to have to transfer it back and then worry about what 15 they would give us in return, but just to cover that 16 huge amount that we were taking. 17 And when I read that in their press 18 release, that this change would really benefit higher 19 users and not those who are trying to generate their 20 own or those who just are great at using less, I felt 21 like we were giving a completely wrong message to the 22 state of Idaho of what we're trying to do here as -- 23 as utility users. 24 We are getting more people. I don't see 25 why these increases are necessary. And if we need -- Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 25 1 if they need more money to take care of the system, I 2 agree with Mr. Olson that that should be an increase 3 in kilowatts. You know, when anybody else 4 manufactures a product -- I work for a smart tech 5 company and we don't increase -- we increase the cost 6 of the product across the board so that the users 7 that buy thousands of our product versus the ones 8 that buy five, they feel that difference the same. 9 Well, for this, those who are trying to 10 use less or who are trying to generate their own to 11 cover how much they use are going to be directly 12 affected. This will triple what I originally thought 13 in my -- when I tried to figure out my budget and 14 make sure that we could do the solar and still pay to 15 be hooked up to Rocky Mountain Power. 16 Also, it's really difficult to have 17 solar and not still be hooked up to Rocky Mountain 18 Power, and it's a huge -- much bigger final expense. 19 And so for those who couldn't buy the, you know, 20 quarter of a million dollar solar system where 21 they're completely off grid and can -- and battery 22 saving and producing, it's really hurting those 23 families that were trying to do something but don't 24 have the excessive finances. 25 So I hope that you will take that into Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 26 1 consideration that I agree, I think that this is 2 going for profit and not for necessity, and I hope 3 that you will look at the past increases that have 4 already been approved and give them some time to be 5 able to help Rocky Mountain Power continue to provide 6 power for us. Thank you. 7 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you, 8 Ms. Harrison. 9 Any questions from the Company? From 10 Staff? 11 Thank you for your testimony. 12 We have no one else signed up to speak. 13 There's only two people in the room that didn't want 14 to speak. Did you want to speak? 15 BOYD COOK: I will go ahead and speak. 16 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Please. Boyd Cook? 17 Is that correct? 18 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear or affirm that 19 the testimony you are about to give is the truth? 20 BOYD COOK: Yes, I do. 21 CLAIRE SHARP: And could you please state and 22 spell your name for the record? 23 BOYD COOK: Boyd Cook, B-o-y-d C-o-o-k. 24 CLAIRE SHARP: And in which city do you 25 reside? Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 27 1 BOYD COOK: Idaho Falls. 2 CLAIRE SHARP: Are you a customer? 3 BOYD COOK: Yes, I am. 4 CLAIRE SHARP: Please proceed. 5 BOYD COOK: I do appreciate you guys coming 6 from Boise in the wind to see us over here in 7 Idaho Falls. You know, there's been -- as I looked 8 through the comments of the various people that 9 submitted comments, and through the staff, I just 10 looked through them after I got here a little early, 11 I think there's a lot of us that feel the same. 12 You know, I understand service fees. I 13 ran a major department for a major national company 14 for a while and then I run a small business for 15 another group of people and I understand fees, you 16 know. And I would get hit with a fuel surcharge for 17 people to haul goods to me. The first time we did 18 that, the owner of the company said, "Oh, well, let's 19 save fuel surcharge and tack that onto the customers' 20 bill." The first time we did that, we had most of 21 our customers call and complain and want to cancel 22 and buy from somebody else that didn't add that 23 separate line of fuel surcharge. 24 And so, you know, again, my 25 understanding of a service fee is, if I have Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 28 1 something broken in my home, somebody is going to 2 charge me a service fee to come and provide that 3 service. Or like when they build a new home, 4 somebody had to provide a service to run the 5 electricity and everything to them. But once it's 6 there, my understanding, I could be wrong, is if I 7 have a problem with electricity on my property, they 8 would charge me to come and fix that. 9 And so, you know, the service fee -- 10 again, I understand a business has got to cover their 11 expenses. But then -- and then I'm one also that is 12 a low-kilowatt-usage person. Our highest month -- 13 and my wife and I, it's just the two of us, we got 14 rid of all the heavy users after years. We only did 15 899 kilowatts in February, and our highest bill in 16 the last several months has been $90. And so this 17 would definitely affect us. 18 And, you know, my concern is for those 19 that aren't here, like the elderly that will not move 20 out of their old homes that are very unefficient, and 21 we have a lot of those out here in the Bonneville 22 County, and I know there's a ton of them all through 23 this area that we have people representing them from 24 Rexburg to Shelley and on up. They will not move out 25 of their homes. Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 29 1 And you also have the young couples that 2 are just starting out, that it's going to affect them 3 to try to be able to make ends meet when they're 4 either paying for college as well as working and 5 stuff like that. 6 You know, I was raised in a home where I 7 was told, if you don't shut the damn light off, I'm 8 going to kick your butt. So I learned at an early 9 age to shut the damn light off and -- so my dad 10 wouldn't have to say that to me. And my wife has 11 learned that I will follow behind her and shut all 12 the lights off and then she'll follow behind and flip 13 them all back on it seems like. But we have really 14 tried since our kids left to try and cut our -- you 15 know, some of our things down, and electricity is one 16 of them that we feel that we've cut down. 17 We've learned ways that we can do things 18 to save us money and stuff like that. And then we 19 see this coming around, and it does -- it really 20 doesn't give us any insensitive to save a whole lot 21 because we're going to get hit and pay that service 22 fee as it continues to rise. 23 You know, I appreciate the time of day 24 change because both my wife and I run a single-person 25 business. She runs hers and I run my business out of Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 30 1 our home. And so I like the -- the time of day 2 change, that they will run that. 3 But I -- as I read all the comments and 4 as people have commented here, I do think it's a bad 5 idea to raise this. You know, I can understand the 6 kilowatts gradually going up. But to raise that 7 service fee, I strongly oppose it. Thank you. 8 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you, Mr. Cook. 9 No questions? 10 Thank you for your testimony. 11 Jason Gonzalez? 12 JASON GONZALEZ: Yes. 13 CLAIRE SHARP: Do you swear or affirm that 14 the testimony you are about to give is the truth? 15 JASON GONZALEZ: Yes. 16 CLAIRE SHARP: And could you please state and 17 spell your name for the record. 18 JASON GONZALEZ: Yes. Jason Gonzalez, 19 J-a-s-o-n G-o-n-z-a-l-e-z. 20 CLAIRE SHARP: And in which city do you 21 reside? 22 JASON GONZALEZ: Idaho Falls. 23 CLAIRE SHARP: And are you a customer? 24 JASON GONZALEZ: Yes, ma'am. 25 CLAIRE SHARP: Thank you. Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 31 1 JASON GONZALEZ: So I will just keep my 2 comments short. But I just wanted to say thank you 3 for making the trip out here and thanks to Rocky 4 Mountain Power for giving us power. My family and my 5 wife and I and our baby, we used you guys in Utah and 6 now here. So we're grateful for having the power 7 that we do. 8 The first point that I'd just like to 9 make is it seems like the term "modernization" as it 10 relates to the modernization plan or initiative that 11 Rocky Mountain Power is pursuing seems to be more in 12 alignment towards Rocky Mountain Power's business 13 model as opposed to modernizing it for the customers, 14 and in my opinion, to keep pace with inflation and 15 maybe rising costs of natural resources, which we've 16 definitely seen a rise in prices and cost with 17 natural resources with the advent of the Biden 18 administration. 19 Relative to the rest of the world, 20 though, our natural resources in our county are still 21 really, really cheap because they are sourced 22 locally. We don't have to import them from foreign 23 countries. We, in fact, export a lot of our natural 24 resources elsewhere internationally which is really 25 awesome. Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 32 1 And so I just wanted to just really 2 affirm that our natural resources are really 3 inexpensive relative to the rest of the world, and so 4 I just don't think there's a huge need to really 5 increase the prices. But I definitely understand 6 that the modernization probably is referring to 7 helping Rocky Mountain Power keep pace with inflation 8 and natural cost -- natural resource costs, rising 9 costs. 10 And the last things that I wanted to 11 just iterate are that it definitely does seem that 12 this initiative seems to incentivize higher energy 13 consumption, which obviously it's a big deal for most 14 of the country and a lot of world to really lower 15 carbon emissions. In our specific area, most of our 16 energy is produced -- almost half of it at least is 17 produced via coal, which obviously is a 18 carbon-producing means of energy production. And so 19 I think this definitely seems to not be in alignment 20 with lowering net carbon -- with lowering our carbon 21 footprint. Instead, it seems to kind of be the 22 opposite. I could be wrong, though. I'm not going 23 to say that I'm an expert on this initiative, but 24 that's definitely what it seems like. 25 And I would say that the majority of the Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 33 1 public opinion that -- or, at least the comments that 2 I've read are opposed to the proposed 3 modernization -- the rate modernization plan, and I 4 think there's power in that. I think there's power 5 in recognizing that the majority of the clients 6 definitely don't want this to happen. Well, maybe 7 not the majority. I guess the majority of the 8 comments; so that is relative. But at least for 9 low-kilowatt users, my family is one of them. Just 10 me and my wife and our little baby. So it doesn't 11 really benefit us a ton, and so -- but just wanted to 12 reiterate my thanks to Rocky Mountain Power for the 13 amazing work that they do in giving us power here in 14 our area as well for you guys for everything you do 15 and keeping us up and running, and so thank you. 16 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you, 17 Mr. Gonzalez. 18 Is there any questions? 19 JASON GONZALEZ: No questions? Okay. 20 COMMISSIONER ANDERSON: Thank you for your 21 testimony. 22 We have satisfied the list. I don't 23 believe there's anybody else that's come in to -- 24 extra to speak. 25 And seeing nobody else new, I do want Customer Hearing - April 18, 2023 34 1 you to know that all of this testimony will become 2 part of the permanent record, and we will be 3 reviewing all of the record at the close of this 4 case. And please see Adam if you have any other 5 written comments you would like to make before you 6 leave tonight. 7 And since we have completed the list, we 8 are now adjourned. Thank you very much for being 9 here tonight. 10 (Customer hearing concluded at 6:39 p.m.) 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 35 1 REPORTER'S CERTIFICATE 2 I, Amber S. Williams, CSR NO. 1080, 3 Certified Shorthand Reporter, certify: 4 That the foregoing proceedings were taken 5 before me at the time and place therein set forth, at 6 which time JASON GONZALEZ was put under oath by me. 7 That the testimony and all objections made 8 were recorded stenographically by me and transcribed 9 by me or under my direction. 10 That the foregoing is a true and correct 11 record of all testimony given, to the best of my 12 ability. 13 I further certify that I am not a relative 14 or employee of any attorney or party, nor am I 15 financially interested in the action. 16 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I set my hand and seal 17 this 24th day of April, 2023. 18 19 20 ______________________________ 21 AMBER S. WILLIAMS, CSR NO. 1080 22 Notary Public 23 Post Office Box 2636 24 Boise, Idaho 83701-2636 25 My commission expires June 1, 2027 In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 $ $150 (1) 17:18 $20 (2) 16:19,21 $30 (1) 16:12 $4 (1) 22:9 $5 (1) 19:15 $8 (5) 9:5;16:12,17,23;19:15 $90 (1) 28:16 A ability (1) 5:9 able (4) 11:19,20;26:5;29:3 access (2) 11:22;12:4 according (1) 14:9 across (2) 4:12;25:6 act (2) 20:11,15 actual (1) 9:21 actually (4) 14:5,25;21:23;22:8 Adam (2) 4:5;34:4 add (2) 17:19;27:22 added (2) 3:22;20:12 additional (1) 8:7 adjourned (1) 34:8 adjusted (1) 13:21 administration (1) 31:18 administration's (1) 19:9 advent (1) 31:17 affect (4) 19:1;20:22;28:17;29:2 affected (1) 25:12 affirm (9) 4:17;10:19;13:1;15:11; 18:9;21:7;26:18;30:13;32:2 afford (1) 11:20 again (2) 27:24;28:10 against (2) 14:23;19:23 age (2) 22:18;29:9 aggressive (2) 16:14;17:1 ago (1) 17:3 agree (3) 16:6;25:2;26:1 agreed (1) 12:8 ahead (1) 26:15 Alder (2) 6:16,16 alignment (2) 31:12;32:19 almost (1) 32:16 alternative (1) 17:15 always (1) 20:8 amazing (1) 33:13 Amber (1) 6:4 amount (4) 9:12,12;10:2;24:16 ANDERSON (17) 3:1,12;6:18,21;10:9,17; 12:17,22;15:5;18:2,6;20:24; 26:7,16;30:8;33:16,20 appealed (1) 6:12 appearance (1) 6:13 appliances (2) 23:15,23 applicant (1) 6:14 Application (1) 3:4 appreciate (4) 6:1;18:1;27:5;29:23 appropriate (3) 5:10;7:22;17:8 approved (3) 19:1;24:9;26:4 approximately (1) 9:6 April (1) 4:3 area (4) 22:25;28:23;32:15;33:14 around (2) 16:19;29:19 attempt (1) 13:17 attorney (2) 4:18;6:19 audience (2) 5:22,23 Authority (2) 3:4;5:8 available (1) 4:4 average (3) 9:17;17:10;22:11 away (1) 15:1 awesome (1) 31:25 B baby (2) 31:5;33:10 back (7) 17:21;18:24;19:12,13; 23:3;24:14;29:13 bad (2) 23:18;30:4 barely (1) 11:15 barrel (1) 20:4 base (6) 6:9;9:23;16:4,14;17:12,22 basically (1) 17:10 battery (1) 25:21 Becky (8) 21:3,5,9,12,12,16,18,20 B-e-c-k-y (1) 21:12 become (2) 14:25;34:1 becoming (1) 14:24 behind (2) 29:11,12 benefit (6) 11:25;12:9;13:15,18; 24:18;33:11 benefits (1) 12:1 best (1) 15:2 Biden (1) 31:17 big (2) 23:20;32:13 bigger (1) 25:18 bill (11) 7:23;8:1;9:4,7,9,13;17:5; 19:8;22:9;27:20;28:15 bills (4) 11:21;18:24;19:13;22:12 bit (5) 9:15,19;11:9;17:3,21 board (1) 25:6 body (1) 5:10 Boise (1) 27:6 Bonneville (1) 28:21 bonus (1) 15:3 both (3) 3:20;11:20;29:24 bothered (1) 22:13 bounds (1) 22:19 BOYD (8) 26:15,16,20,23,23;27:1,3,5 B-o-y-d (1) 26:23 break (2) 19:3;20:1 Brett (7) 18:8,11,14,14,18,20,22 bring (1) 11:8 bringing (1) 22:25 broken (1) 28:1 budget (1) 25:13 build (1) 28:3 built (1) 11:7 bump (1) 4:11 bunch (1) 21:22 bundled (1) 14:18 burden (1) 16:8 business (5) 27:14;28:10;29:25,25; 31:12 businesses (2) 12:2,10 businessman (1) 12:5 butt (1) 29:8 buy (4) 25:7,8,19;27:22 C calculated (2) 17:17;18:25 calculating (2) 17:4;18:24 call (6) Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (36) $150 - call In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 4:14;7:3;8:23;11:18;22:4; 27:21 called (1) 11:19 came (3) 5:13;18:22;21:3 can (8) 4:11;14:5,7;22:15;23:21; 25:21;29:17;30:5 cancel (1) 27:21 capabilities (1) 9:1 carbon (3) 32:15,20,20 carbon-producing (1) 32:18 care (1) 25:1 Case (7) 3:3,15,23;5:1;6:25;9:3; 34:4 cases (1) 6:3 cetera (2) 22:9,9 chair (1) 3:13 change (11) 5:9;13:21;14:12,14,21; 17:18;18:25;23:25;24:18; 29:24;30:2 changed (1) 23:24 changes (2) 13:14;24:8 changing (1) 14:16 charge (4) 9:15;19:14;28:2,8 charges (1) 23:1 cheap (1) 31:21 children (1) 24:3 choose (1) 20:6 chose (2) 23:13;24:11 chunk (1) 17:14 city (10) 4:22;7:11;11:1;13:8; 15:18;18:16;21:14,23;26:24; 30:20 Claire (46) 4:16,19;6:20,20;7:5,8,11, 14,16;10:19,22;11:1,3,5; 12:21;13:1,4,8,10,12;15:11, 14,18,21,23;18:5,9,12,16,19, 21;21:7,10,14,17,19;26:18, 21,24;27:2,4;30:13,16,20,23, 25 clapping (1) 5:25 clause (1) 6:8 Clean (1) 6:21 clients (1) 33:5 close (1) 34:3 coal (1) 32:17 Coalition (1) 6:24 collecting (1) 8:10 collectively (1) 3:16 college (1) 29:4 coming (3) 10:2;27:5;29:19 comment (3) 4:3;6:1;17:25 commented (1) 30:4 comments (14) 4:2;5:20;7:19,20;8:9;16:1; 19:5;27:8,9;30:3;31:2;33:1, 8;34:5 Commission (4) 3:9,15,20;5:14 COMMISSIONER (18) 3:1,12,14;6:18,21;10:9,17; 12:17,22;15:5;18:2,6;20:24; 26:7,16;30:8;33:16,20 commissioners (4) 3:23;5:1,21;7:18 companies (2) 16:16;23:4 Company (9) 3:20;10:11;12:19;15:7; 18:3;25:5;26:9;27:13,18 complain (1) 27:21 completed (1) 34:7 completely (2) 24:21;25:21 comprise (1) 3:15 concern (2) 16:10;28:18 concluded (1) 34:10 concur (1) 15:25 conduit (1) 8:19 connect (1) 8:15 conservation (4) 4:8;6:23;16:7;22:16 conserve (1) 15:2 consider (3) 8:19;9:5,16 consideration (1) 26:1 consumption (1) 32:13 contains (1) 5:16 continual (1) 20:18 continue (2) 6:13;26:5 continues (1) 29:22 contribute (1) 19:9 COOK (9) 26:15,16,20,23,23;27:1,3, 5;30:8 C-o-o-k (1) 26:23 corporations (2) 12:1,10 cost (14) 9:15,21,23;11:16;14:1,2,6; 17:17,17;19:10;20:9;25:5; 31:16;32:8 costs (6) 11:14;12:6;13:23;31:15; 32:8,9 council (1) 21:23 countries (1) 31:23 country (1) 32:14 County (3) 22:24;28:22;31:20 couples (1) 29:1 court (2) 5:20;6:4 cover (6) 13:24;17:14;24:13,15; 25:11;28:10 create (1) 24:10 crisis (1) 22:21 current (5) 7:23;9:7;16:17;19:8,9 currently (1) 14:1 customer (12) 3:2;4:24;7:14;8:15;11:3; 13:10;15:21;18:19;21:17; 27:2;30:23;34:10 customers (8) 9:25;22:5,8,11;23:1,1; 27:21;31:13 customers' (1) 27:19 cut (3) 23:25;29:14,16 D dad (1) 29:9 damn (2) 29:7,9 David (6) 7:4,10,10,13,15,17 DAVIS (1) 7:7 day (5) 14:14,21;22:18;29:23;30:1 day-to-day (1) 12:11 deadline (1) 4:2 deal (2) 20:20;32:13 decentivizes (1) 12:13 deciding (1) 5:15 decision (3) 3:24;5:17;6:12 decisionmaking (1) 5:10 decisions (1) 6:9 decorum (1) 5:19 decrease (1) 22:12 definitely (8) 11:25;28:17;31:16;32:5, 11,19,24;33:6 degree (1) 17:6 department (1) 27:13 deputy (2) 4:18;6:19 desire (2) 16:17,22 determination (1) 3:16 difference (1) 25:8 different (2) 12:6;23:15 difficult (1) 25:16 directed (3) 5:9,21;8:9 directly (3) 8:14;13:15;25:11 disadvantaged (1) 13:18 discouraged (1) Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (37) called - discouraged In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 24:8 discouraging (1) 24:11 discriminate (1) 19:22 disguise (1) 13:17 disguised (1) 14:19 disincentivize (1) 16:7 distance (1) 7:18 docket (1) 5:6 dollar (1) 25:20 door (1) 16:20 down (6) 6:6;20:14,16;22:7;29:15, 16 due (1) 17:18 E early (2) 27:10;29:8 economic (1) 5:8 effect (1) 9:11 efforts (1) 16:7 either (1) 29:4 elderly (1) 28:19 electrical (2) 17:5;20:6 electricity (5) 17:14,15;28:5,7;29:15 elementary (1) 22:15 else (6) 21:6;25:3;26:12;27:22; 33:23,25 elsewhere (1) 31:24 emissions (1) 32:15 encourage (2) 5:11;17:20 end (5) 8:19;16:23,24;22:7;23:8 ends (1) 29:3 Energy (15) 6:21,24;9:15;11:16;12:4; 15:2;22:11,16,17,21;23:17; 24:4;32:12,16,18 energywise (1) 12:15 enough (2) 23:25;24:12 ensure (1) 5:15 equal (1) 9:13 equitable (1) 9:25 Eric (1) 3:12 et (2) 22:9,9 even (3) 19:2,3;20:1 evening (2) 3:1;4:13 event (1) 6:11 everyone (2) 10:2;21:6 evidence (1) 3:24 example (2) 9:4;24:5 excessive (1) 25:24 expand (1) 9:2 expanding (1) 14:4 expense (2) 20:12;25:18 expenses (1) 28:11 experienced (1) 19:7 expert (1) 32:23 explaining (1) 22:5 explored (1) 20:8 export (1) 31:23 extra (3) 24:9,13;33:24 F fact (1) 31:23 facts (1) 3:23 fair (2) 9:24;20:20 fairly (1) 10:7 Falls (6) 7:13;15:20;16:20;27:1,7; 30:22 families (2) 16:9;25:23 family (4) 17:17;24:2;31:4;33:9 far (3) 4:13;15:4;18:11 fast (2) 6:5;17:9 February (1) 28:15 fee (8) 8:15;9:5;11:22;27:25; 28:2,9;29:22;30:7 feel (7) 7:21;17:7;23:17,18;25:8; 27:11;29:16 fees (2) 27:12,15 felt (3) 23:24;24:4,20 figure (1) 25:13 filed (1) 3:9 filled (1) 3:8 final (4) 3:16,24;5:16;25:18 finally (1) 24:1 finances (2) 23:22;25:24 find (1) 20:21 firm (1) 8:17 first (4) 7:3;27:17,20;31:8 first- (1) 19:17 five (7) 16:5,13,25;17:11,12;23:4; 25:8 five-year (1) 9:11 fix (1) 28:8 fixed (2) 13:19;14:11 fixed-price (1) 13:20 flip (1) 29:12 focus (1) 5:5 focuses (1) 5:7 follow (3) 4:19;29:11,12 footprint (1) 32:21 foreign (1) 31:22 forward (1) 7:4 fossil (1) 19:10 four (1) 23:13 fuel (3) 27:16,19,23 fuels (1) 19:10 fund (1) 8:10 G gas (4) 19:7,7,11;23:24 general (2) 4:19;6:19 Generally (1) 22:10 generate (3) 24:13,19;25:10 generating (1) 20:7 generation (1) 17:15 giving (4) 15:2;24:21;31:4;33:13 Gneiting (12) 10:16,16,17,18,21,24,24, 24;11:2,4,6;12:18 G-n-e-i-t-i-n-g (1) 10:25 goals (1) 14:23 goes (6) 4:13;9:21,22,23;14:23; 15:4 Gonzalez (10) 30:11,12,15,18,18,22,24; 31:1;33:17,19 G-o-n-z-a-l-e-z (1) 30:19 Good (5) 3:1;6:18;17:14;21:5;24:5 goods (1) 27:17 gradually (1) 30:6 grateful (1) 31:6 great (1) 24:20 green (1) 12:14 grid (1) 25:21 group (1) 27:15 growth (2) 22:23,24 guess (3) 22:3;23:17;33:7 guilty (1) Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (38) discouraging - guilty In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 23:17 guys (3) 27:5;31:5;33:14 H half (2) 21:25;32:16 Hammond (1) 3:14 hand (1) 4:17 handle (1) 24:9 happen (1) 33:6 happened (1) 23:9 happens (1) 9:3 harmony (1) 7:24 Harrison (9) 21:3,5,9,12,12,16,18,20; 26:8 H-a-r-r-i-s-o-n (1) 21:13 haul (1) 27:17 hear (1) 21:25 hearing (4) 3:2,6;21:24;34:10 heated (1) 19:6 heating (1) 19:6 heavy (2) 12:1;28:14 held (2) 3:19;18:23 help (8) 5:16;12:11,15,15;17:20; 22:20;24:6;26:5 helping (2) 24:4;32:7 high (1) 16:24 higher (7) 9:19,22,23;16:16;19:11; 24:18;32:12 higher-power (1) 20:11 highest (4) 19:7;22:24;28:12,15 historic (1) 22:23 historically (1) 23:3 hit (2) 27:16;29:21 home (6) 11:12;23:16;28:1,3;29:6; 30:1 homes (2) 28:20,25 hooked (2) 25:15,17 hookup (1) 23:1 hope (2) 25:25;26:2 hour (1) 20:16 hours (1) 21:25 house (4) 8:14;11:7,9,11 household (1) 24:10 households (1) 16:21 huge (5) 23:10;24:2,16;25:18;32:4 hurting (1) 25:22 husband (1) 23:14 I Idaho (11) 6:22,23;7:13;13:9;15:20; 16:20;22:22;24:22;27:1,7; 30:22 idea (3) 11:15,18;30:5 identify (1) 6:15 impact (2) 17:16,19 Implement (1) 3:5 import (1) 31:22 improve (1) 3:10 incentives (1) 14:25 incentivize (2) 20:11;32:12 include (2) 4:21;14:3 including (1) 8:18 income (4) 8:23;13:20,20;16:9 increase (25) 12:16;13:25;14:2,8,9,11; 16:4,14;17:9,12,22;19:15,16, 19,24;20:18;22:9,20;23:8,9, 11;25:2,5,5;32:5 increased (3) 9:4;14:5;19:14 increases (4) 17:4;23:5;24:25;26:3 inexpensive (1) 32:3 infect (1) 20:22 inflation (4) 14:9;17:7;31:14;32:7 information (2) 4:5;7:25 initiative (3) 31:10;32:12,23 insensitive (1) 29:20 install (1) 20:6 installed (1) 17:2 instead (3) 5:9;14:17;32:21 internationally (1) 31:24 intervened (1) 3:19 into (2) 24:3;25:25 investment (1) 24:2 invite (1) 5:11 issues (1) 5:7 item (1) 8:17 iterate (1) 32:11 J January (1) 19:13 Jason (9) 30:11,12,15,18,18,22,24; 31:1;33:19 J-a-s-o-n (1) 30:19 Jefferson (1) 22:23 Jeremy (9) 10:15,16,18,21,24,24;11:2, 4,6 joined (1) 3:14 judicial (2) 6:3,9 June (1) 19:18 justification (1) 14:7 K keep (3) 31:1,14;32:7 keeping (1) 33:15 kick (1) 29:8 kid (1) 11:13 kids (2) 23:16;29:14 kilowatt (7) 8:3;9:18,18,21;10:3,7; 20:16 kilowatts (11) 8:13,20,24;9:8,12;20:1; 23:2,19;25:3;28:15;30:6 kind (4) 9:9;17:3;20:3;32:21 Kit (7) 15:10,13,16,16,20,22,24 K-i-t (1) 15:16 L large (2) 14:3;23:16 larger (1) 12:10 last (12) 4:22;7:23;8:1;11:7;18:23; 19:8;21:4;22:10;23:4,6; 28:16;32:10 League (1) 6:23 leaps (1) 22:19 learned (3) 29:8,11,17 least (4) 22:24;32:16;33:1,8 leave (2) 4:4;34:6 left (1) 29:14 less (2) 24:20;25:10 light (2) 29:7,9 lights (2) 11:13;29:12 limit (1) 4:9 line (3) 8:13;22:10;27:23 lined (1) 23:22 list (4) 10:15;21:4;33:22;34:7 listen (2) 7:19;21:6 listening (2) 10:8;21:21 little (5) 4:11;17:3,21;27:10;33:10 live (1) Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (39) guys - live In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 3:21 locally (1) 31:22 long (2) 4:10;7:18 long-term (1) 13:16 look (1) 26:3 looked (3) 23:3;27:7,10 looks (1) 20:10 losing (2) 14:19,20 lot (10) 16:15,16;17:13;19:3; 22:19;27:11;28:21;29:20; 31:23;32:14 lots (2) 11:13;23:16 low (3) 9:16;10:7;16:23 lower (3) 9:22;16:8;32:14 lowering (3) 20:15;32:20,20 low-kilowatt (6) 8:1;19:5,23,24;20:23;33:9 low-kilowatt-usage (1) 28:12 low-user (1) 8:2 M ma'am (1) 30:24 maintenance (4) 13:23;14:1,2,6 major (2) 27:13,13 majority (4) 32:25;33:5,7,7 makes (1) 8:16 making (2) 7:18;31:3 manufactures (1) 25:4 many (3) 4:6;16:1;22:7 Mark (3) 6:16,16;16:19 match (1) 14:10 matching (1) 14:8 math (1) 11:20 matter (4) 3:3,17;16:12,25 matters (2) 5:6,14 may (4) 4:4,24;7:1;24:10 maybe (3) 17:23;31:15;33:6 mean (6) 16:6,18,19;22:14,18;23:19 means (2) 5:25;32:18 mechanism (1) 20:7 meet (1) 29:3 members (2) 3:7;5:21 Menlove (7) 15:10,13,16,16,20,22,24 M-e-n-l-o-v-e (1) 15:17 merits (1) 5:14 message (1) 24:21 methods (1) 17:16 might (1) 17:24 million (1) 25:20 mind (1) 8:22 mine (1) 9:22 minimal (1) 22:8 minimum (1) 19:25 missed (1) 7:1 model (2) 12:7;31:13 Modernization (10) 3:5;16:3;19:22;20:11; 22:5;31:9,10;32:6;33:3,3 modernizing (1) 31:13 modest (2) 17:4,22 money (8) 8:7;10:3;11:10,17;14:19; 24:3;25:1;29:18 month (6) 8:1;18:23;19:2;20:1; 23:20;28:12 months (1) 28:16 more (15) 14:24,25;16:8,8;17:18,22, 24;22:11;23:1,1,5,10;24:24; 25:1;31:11 most (4) 19:24;27:20;32:13,15 Mountain (24) 3:4,8;4:24;6:14,17;8:4; 11:8,21;13:14,16,24;19:14; 20:4,13;22:3;24:8;25:15,17; 26:5;31:4,11,12;32:7;33:12 move (3) 16:18;28:19,24 moving (1) 22:25 much (10) 12:11;15:9,25;17:22; 21:20;22:13;23:19;25:11,18; 34:8 must (1) 6:9 myself (1) 20:8 N name (12) 3:12;4:14,22,22;7:9;10:23; 13:5;15:15;18:13;21:11; 26:22;30:17 nation (1) 15:4 national (2) 14:23;27:13 natural (10) 19:7,10;23:24;31:15,17, 20,23;32:2,8,8 nature (1) 6:3 nearly (2) 16:5,12 necessary (2) 6:8;24:25 necessity (1) 26:2 need (7) 6:6;7:1;14:7;20:21;24:25; 25:1;32:4 needs (1) 13:24 negatively (2) 20:22,22 net (3) 14:24,25;32:20 new (4) 8:15;11:17;28:3;33:25 Next (3) 10:15;16:20;17:11 nobody (1) 33:25 none (3) 7:2;10:11;12:21 normal (1) 12:11 normally (1) 4:8 Northwest (1) 6:24 noticed (2) 19:13,18 notify (1) 4:23 nudge (1) 6:7 O objective (1) 3:21 obviously (2) 32:13,17 October (1) 3:9 off (5) 11:13;25:21;29:7,9,12 offer (1) 5:4 officer (1) 4:5 official (1) 6:10 offset (2) 11:14,16 old (2) 22:15;28:20 Olson (10) 7:4,7,10,10,13,15,17;10:9, 13;25:2 O-l-s-o-n (1) 7:10 once (1) 28:5 one (10) 8:23;10:1;14:22;17:1; 19:2;22:2;26:12;28:11; 29:15;33:9 ones (1) 25:7 online (2) 11:24;16:1 only (13) 5:6;8:13;9:8,14,15;10:1; 12:9;19:1;20:4;22:14;24:12; 26:13;28:14 onto (1) 27:19 opinion (4) 8:11,22;31:14;33:1 Opportunities (1) 6:22 opportunity (2) 5:3;20:5 oppose (1) 30:7 opposed (2) 31:13;33:2 opposite (1) 32:22 originally (1) 25:12 others (3) 7:24;19:4,4 ours (1) Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (40) locally - ours In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 24:13 out (15) 9:17;11:8,20;17:10;19:2; 22:2,4;23:7;25:13;28:20,21, 24;29:2,25;31:3 outlining (1) 22:7 over (10) 3:10;4:6;5:8;16:5;17:5,11; 20:4;21:25;22:1;27:6 own (4) 14:17;18:24;24:20;25:10 owner (1) 27:18 P pace (2) 31:14;32:7 PAC-E-22-15 (1) 3:3 page (1) 22:6 paid (2) 11:8,9 panels (3) 17:3;20:7;24:12 paragraph (1) 22:6 Parkinson (8) 18:8,11,14,14,18,20,22; 20:25 P-a-r-k-i-n-s-o-n (1) 18:15 part (4) 6:10;9:7;12:4;34:2 particularly (1) 16:2 parties (4) 3:18;5:2;6:14,25 party (1) 6:15 past (2) 20:17;26:3 pay (3) 10:2;25:14;29:21 paying (3) 12:4;20:2;29:4 payment (1) 11:21 people (15) 4:6;8:24;12:16;14:25; 15:1,3;17:2;22:25;24:24; 26:13;27:8,15,17;28:23;30:4 per (3) 9:18;17:18,23 percent (9) 8:25;9:6,8,13;16:5,5; 17:11,23;19:15 percentage (1) 9:20 permanent (1) 34:2 person (1) 28:12 piece (1) 22:3 place (1) 3:2 Plan (4) 3:5;16:11;31:10;33:3 planned (1) 13:14 plans (1) 5:4 please (23) 4:12,21,25;5:19;6:5,6,15; 7:4,8,16;10:22;11:5;13:4,12; 15:14;18:12;21:10,19;26:16, 21;27:4;30:16;34:4 pm (2) 4:3;34:10 podium (1) 4:25 point (5) 3:18;4:12;16:22;22:2;31:8 pointed (1) 23:7 policy (1) 5:7 poorly (1) 13:17 portion (1) 16:2 Power (31) 4:24;6:15,17;8:11;11:8,8, 21;13:16,21,24;14:16,20; 16:21;18:24;19:14;20:4; 22:18;24:8;25:15,18;26:5,6; 31:4,4,6,11;32:7;33:4,4,12, 13 Power's (5) 3:4,8;8:5;22:3;31:12 prepared (1) 5:13 Prescott (9) 12:25;13:3,6,6,7,9,11,13; 15:6 P-r-e-s-c-o-t-t (1) 13:7 present (1) 4:25 presented (1) 5:25 press (2) 22:4;24:17 pretty (2) 8:16;10:7 price (2) 9:17;11:22 prices (3) 13:22;31:16;32:5 pricing (1) 14:16 primary (1) 16:10 prior (1) 18:23 probably (2) 23:18;32:6 problem (1) 28:7 procedure (2) 4:13,20 proceed (5) 7:16;11:5;13:12;21:19; 27:4 proceeding (1) 5:19 proceedings (2) 3:13,25 process (4) 4:21;6:2;9:11;10:1 produced (2) 32:16,17 producing (1) 25:22 product (5) 8:12,19;25:4,6,7 production (1) 32:18 profit (1) 26:2 profits (1) 13:16 program (1) 20:21 prohibitive (1) 20:9 projected (1) 9:19 projects (1) 14:3 properly (1) 10:5 property (1) 28:7 proposal (1) 16:3 proposals (1) 20:18 proposed (1) 33:2 provide (5) 5:18;14:2;26:5;28:2,4 provider (1) 20:5 providing (2) 4:18;8:17 public (7) 3:7,19,20,21;4:5;21:24; 33:1 purpose (3) 3:6;8:6,7 pursuing (1) 31:11 put (7) 4:9;11:15;16:7;23:13,15; 24:1,3 putting (2) 12:14;24:12 Q quarter (1) 25:20 quick (3) 16:13;17:1,6 quite (2) 9:19;11:9 R raise (5) 4:16;20:13,21;30:5,6 raised (1) 29:6 ran (1) 27:13 Rate (11) 3:5;16:3,4,11,14,17;17:12, 22,23;20:16;33:3 rates (5) 19:17,19,22;20:14,18 reacting (1) 5:24 read (5) 22:3,14;24:17;30:3;33:2 ready (1) 7:2 really (22) 12:11;16:10,13,24;17:1,1, 8,13,16;24:18;25:16,22; 29:13,19;31:21,21,24;32:1,2, 4,14;33:11 reason (1) 19:20 reasonable (1) 17:24 receive (1) 8:12 received (1) 7:22 recently (1) 23:13 recognized (1) 7:1 recognizing (1) 33:5 record (15) 3:22,24;5:15;6:10,11;7:9; 10:23;13:5;15:15;18:13; 21:11;26:22;30:17;34:2,3 reducing (2) 14:23,24 reference (1) 3:7 referred (1) 3:3 referring (1) 32:6 refrain (1) Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (41) out - refrain In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 5:24 regard (6) 8:4,8,21;9:2,10;10:6 regular (1) 11:11 regulators (1) 5:8 reiterate (2) 20:19;33:12 relates (1) 31:10 relationship (1) 9:14 Relative (3) 31:19;32:3;33:8 release (2) 22:4;24:18 relevant (2) 5:2,16 remain (1) 4:25 remember (2) 5:19;22:15 remind (2) 5:4;6:6 repeat (1) 21:21 replaced (1) 23:23 reporter (1) 6:4 represent (1) 9:8 representing (2) 9:6;28:23 requests (1) 3:8 reside (8) 7:12;11:1;13:8;15:19; 18:17;21:15;26:25;30:21 residence (1) 4:23 Residential (1) 3:5 resource (1) 32:8 resources (5) 31:15,17,20,24;32:2 respect (2) 5:13;6:2 rest (2) 31:19;32:3 return (1) 24:15 revenue (2) 14:12,21 review (1) 3:23 reviewed (1) 7:20 reviewing (1) 34:3 Rexburg (2) 18:18;28:24 rid (1) 28:14 Rigby (6) 11:2,7;13:9;21:16,23; 22:23 right (9) 3:14;4:16;7:23;11:10,12; 12:16;16:20;23:18,23 rise (2) 29:22;31:16 rising (2) 31:15;32:8 road (2) 20:14,16 Rocky (24) 3:4,8;4:24;6:14,16;8:4; 11:8,21;13:14,16,24;19:14; 20:4,13;22:3;24:8;25:15,17; 26:5;31:3,11,12;32:7;33:12 role (1) 6:9 room (3) 5:20;10:3;26:13 run (5) 27:14;28:4;29:24,25;30:2 running (1) 33:15 runs (1) 29:25 Rush (1) 4:5 S sale (1) 8:24 same (8) 9:12,19,23;10:2;14:15; 21:25;25:8;27:11 satisfied (1) 33:22 save (4) 11:16;27:19;29:18,20 saved (1) 23:15 saving (1) 25:22 scale (1) 17:21 schemes (1) 14:12 school (1) 22:15 second (1) 22:6 second-tier (1) 19:17 Seeing (2) 7:2;33:25 seem (1) 32:11 seems (11) 13:17;16:13,19,25;29:13; 31:9,11;32:12,19,21,24 sense (2) 14:15;15:4 sent (1) 22:4 separate (1) 27:23 service (19) 8:7,12,23,25;9:4,5,9,12,15; 11:10;19:14;27:12,25;28:2, 3,4,9;29:21;30:7 set (2) 12:8;14:17 several (3) 3:18;7:21;28:16 Sharp (45) 4:19;6:20,20;7:5,8,11,14, 16;10:19,22;11:1,3,5;12:21; 13:1,4,8,10,12;15:11,14,18, 21,23;18:5,9,12,16,19,21; 21:7,10,14,17,19;26:18,21, 24;27:2,4;30:13,16,20,23,25 sheets (2) 4:4,14 Shelley (1) 28:24 short (1) 31:2 show (1) 14:5 shown (1) 13:25 shut (3) 29:7,9,11 sic (1) 12:14 signed (2) 4:7;26:12 significant (2) 6:11;19:24 sign-up (1) 4:14 similar (2) 5:20;23:12 single-family (2) 11:12,25 single-family-home (1) 23:20 single-person (1) 29:24 situation (2) 23:12;24:4 slow (1) 6:6 small (1) 27:14 smaller (1) 16:8 smart (3) 22:17;23:25;25:4 softly (2) 6:5,7 solar (16) 11:15,21;12:14;14:20,20; 17:3,16;20:6;22:18;23:13; 24:3,7,10;25:14,17,20 solid (1) 13:19 somebody (3) 27:22;28:1,4 someone (1) 9:20 somewhere (1) 16:18 sort (1) 20:7 source (1) 8:24 sourced (1) 31:21 space (1) 19:6 speak (9) 4:11;6:5;8:2;10:7;26:12, 14,14,15;33:24 speaking (2) 6:7;8:2 specific (2) 8:10;32:15 specifically (1) 22:22 spell (9) 4:22;7:9;10:23;13:5; 15:15;18:13;21:11;26:22; 30:17 spelled (1) 10:25 stabilize (1) 13:15 Staff (6) 10:12;12:20;15:8;18:4; 26:10;27:9 stand (1) 4:15 started (2) 23:17,18 starting (1) 29:2 state (13) 7:8;10:22;13:4,13;14:22; 15:14;16:16,24;18:12;21:10; 24:22;26:21;30:16 stations (1) 8:18 Steven (7) 12:25;13:3,6,6,9,11,13 S-t-e-v-e-n (1) 13:7 still (4) 7:21;25:14,17;31:20 strategy (1) 15:4 strongly (1) 30:7 studied (2) Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (42) regard - studied In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 23:14,14 stuff (2) 29:5,18 stumbling (1) 3:10 submission (1) 8:5 submit (2) 4:2;11:23 submitted (4) 7:20;16:1;19:5;27:9 substance (1) 5:5 suggest (1) 17:24 supposedly (1) 19:21 surcharge (3) 27:16,19,23 sure (3) 19:17;24:12;25:14 suspect (1) 20:16 swear (9) 4:17;7:5;10:19;13:1; 15:11;18:9;21:7;26:18;30:13 sworn (1) 4:15 system (5) 8:17;11:15;24:1;25:1,20 systems (1) 14:20 T tack (1) 27:19 talked (1) 22:19 taught (1) 22:16 tech (1) 25:4 technology (1) 22:20 term (1) 31:9 terms (1) 16:24 testified (2) 17:2;19:4 testify (2) 5:12,14 testifying (1) 19:20 testimonies (1) 21:25 testimony (30) 3:7,21;4:17,25;5:4,5,7,16, 18,24;7:6;10:14,20;11:24; 12:3,23,23;13:2;15:9,12; 18:7,10;21:2,8;26:11,19; 30:10,14;33:21;34:1 thanks (2) 31:3;33:12 thereby (1) 8:16 therefore (1) 9:24 third (1) 22:6 though (2) 31:20;32:22 thought (3) 20:9;23:21;25:12 thousands (1) 25:7 three (2) 21:24;23:4 times (1) 7:21 today (3) 7:23;9:4,11 told (1) 29:7 ton (3) 23:16;28:22;33:11 tongue (1) 3:10 tonight (11) 4:4,7;5:4,12,18;6:4;19:20; 21:21;22:19;34:6,9 tonight's (2) 3:13,21 total (4) 9:6,9,13,18 towards (3) 16:18;23:8;31:12 transcript (1) 6:8 transfer (1) 24:14 treated (1) 10:4 treatment (1) 9:25 trees (1) 23:25 tried (2) 25:13;29:14 trip (1) 31:3 triple (1) 25:12 truth (9) 4:18;7:6;10:20;13:2; 15:12;18:10;21:8;26:19; 30:14 try (6) 3:10;22:20;24:5,13;29:3, 14 trying (8) 15:2;20:13;22:16;24:19, 22;25:9,10,23 Tuesday (1) 4:2 turn (1) 11:13 two (4) 18:25;19:12;26:13;28:13 type (1) 8:10 typically (1) 19:2 U ultimately (1) 5:15 Under (1) 20:15 underlying (1) 3:22 unduly (1) 19:22 unefficient (1) 28:20 unfair (1) 9:16 unless (1) 20:6 up (11) 4:7;9:21;11:22;17:19; 23:22;25:15,17;26:12;28:24; 30:6;33:15 upon (2) 3:11;12:8 usage (1) 10:8 use (9) 9:18;17:13;19:25;20:11; 22:11,17;23:16;25:10,11 used (6) 9:11,13,14,14;14:6;31:5 user (7) 8:1,25;11:11,25;12:11; 19:5;23:20 users (12) 9:16;10:7;12:1;19:23,24; 20:23;24:7,19,23;25:6; 28:14;33:9 using (5) 9:7,20;23:2,19;24:20 Utah (1) 31:5 Utilities (1) 3:20 utility (3) 16:15;23:4;24:23 V various (1) 27:8 veiled (1) 13:17 verbal (1) 6:1 versus (2) 14:6;25:7 via (1) 32:17 W walking (1) 4:6 war (1) 19:9 water (1) 19:6 way (1) 11:24 ways (1) 29:17 weight (1) 16:8 what's (2) 15:25;21:22 whole (2) 4:18;29:20 wife (5) 28:13;29:10,24;31:5;33:10 Williams (1) 6:4 willingness (1) 6:1 wind (1) 27:6 winter (1) 19:8 wishes (1) 5:12 wishing (1) 4:1 witness (1) 7:3 word (1) 23:18 work (3) 21:23;25:4;33:13 working (1) 29:4 works (1) 11:20 workshop (2) 3:19;18:22 world (4) 22:21;31:19;32:3,14 worry (1) 24:14 written (5) 4:2;7:20;11:23;12:23;34:5 wrong (3) 24:21;28:6;32:22 Y year (5) 11:7;17:12,18,23;19:2 years (12) 16:5,13,25;17:11,12; Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (43) stuff - years In the Matter of Rocky Mountain Power's Application . . . Customer Hearing April 18, 2023 18:25;19:12;22:15;23:4,5, 14;28:14 young (3) 24:2,2;29:1 Z zero (2) 14:24;15:1 1 1,600 (1) 23:19 10 (2) 17:23;23:6 100 (1) 8:25 11th (1) 4:3 15 (3) 17:23;23:3,6 2 20 (1) 23:3 2022 (6) 3:9;19:13,18;22:25;23:8,9 20th (1) 3:9 25 (1) 9:6 260 (2) 8:2;9:18 29.25 (2) 16:12,25 3 30 (1) 17:11 366 (1) 16:4 39 (1) 22:14 4 400 (1) 16:5 5 5 (1) 4:3 500 (1) 9:20 6 6:39 (1) 34:10 60 (1) 19:15 61 (1) 9:13 8 800 (2) 9:20;19:25 899 (1) 28:15 9 9 (1) 9:8 900 (1) 9:8 Min-U-Script®M & M Court Reporting Service (208)345-9611(ph) (800)234-9611 (208)-345-8800(fax) (44) young - 900