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Home My WebLink Aboutintro.pdfIPUC Annual Report 2009 1 | P a g e The Honorable C.L. “Butch” Otter Office of the Governor Statehouse Boise, ID 83720‐0034 Dear Governor Otter: It is my distinct pleasure to submit to you, in accordance with Idaho Code §61‐214, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission 2009 Annual Report. Idaho customers of major electric and gas utilities are learning that, unfortunately, we are not immune to the upward pressures on utility rates occurring nationwide. All of the investor‐owned electric utilities we regulate experienced rate increases during 2008. Gas customers, on the other hand, experienced significant decreases, thanks to lower prices on the wholesale market. Idaho Power Company had two major rate adjustments in 2009 on Feb. 1 and June 1. The rate case completed in late January resulted in an average 4 percent increase after an appeal. Most significant about this case was the implementation of tiered rates. We continue to get customer comment regarding tiered rates (addressed in more detail on pages 14 and 15 of this report) and we are reviewing those for possible changes. The larger rate increase for Idaho Power customers came later on June 1 with the yearly Power Cost Adjustment, a 10.2 percent increase. Three other adjustments, including the Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA), an increase to the Energy Efficiency Rider and the first year’s installment of automated meters, were implemented on the same date, resulting in an overall rate increase of about 15.5 percent. As you know, the Power Cost Adjustment (PCA) is determined largely on the previous year’s water conditions and market conditions, a forecast of future market conditions and a true‐up of the previous year’s forecast. Idaho Power’s earnings do not increase when the PCA goes up, but it can still have a significant impact on customer rates. Fortunately it is updated every June 1, and in 2010 we are expecting a decrease. We are in the final year of a three‐year pilot for the Fixed Cost Adjustment. This adjustment is a mechanism intended to allow Idaho Power to recover its fixed costs when power sales decline due to the company’s investment in energy efficiency and conservation programs. We are still reviewing whether this program should be made permanent, as the company has requested. We want to make sure that “lost revenues” are actually attributable to the company’s investment in these programs and not because of other factors such as customer self‐initiated conservation or economic conditions. Avista Utilities filed a joint electric and natural gas rate increase in January. In July, the Commission approved a settlement that increased base rates by 5.7 percent, but because of a 4.2 percent reduction in the company’s annual Power Cost Adjustment, the net increase was 1.5 IPUC Annual Report 2009 2 | P a g e percent. On the gas side, the base rate increase was 2.1 percent, but customers did not pay more this year because of a reduction in the Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment. PacifiCorp, which does business in eastern Idaho as Rocky Mountain Power, filed a request for a 4 percent increase in September 2008 and was granted 3.1 percent effective April 18, 2009. This case was resolved by a settlement of the parties. In a separate case, the commission approved a yearly adjustment for PacifiCorp called an Energy Cost Adjustment Mechanism (ECAM). Similar to Idaho Power’s PCA, it allows rates to be adjusted up or down every April 1 to account for varying costs of power supply. On the brighter side, gas customers for Avista Utilities saw three decreases during the year to the Purchased Gas Cost Adjustment (PGA) portion of their bills that totaled about 33 percent. Intermountain Gas customers in southern Idaho saw a decrease of about 26.5 percent. One of the more significant developments of the year was the Commission’s approval of Idaho Power’s request for a certificate to build a 330‐megwatt natural gas plant near New Plymouth. The plant, called Langley Gulch, is expected to be operating by late 2012. Details are presented on pages 24 and 25. Idaho Power is in the third year of an approximate $71 million project to install automated meters throughout its service territory. This effort is an initial part of a future Idaho Power Smart Grid. Details are available on page 26. In early 2009, we completed a major energy affordability study. This was initiated in response to the now almost annual request for rate increases from utilities. We, along with consumer groups, sought to find ways to mitigate the impacts of these increases on customers as much as possible. A summary of our recommendations is available on pages 30‐32 of this report. A major project this year for Commission staff, working in coordination with the Office of Energy Resources, was the completion of a 120‐page report to the Legislature on our progress toward implementing the goals of the 2007 Energy Plan. A link to the report on our Web page is http://www.puc.idaho.gov/hot/EnergyPlan%20OER_PUC.pdf Our dedicated staff is working on several additional projects you will find outlined in the pages of this report. It has been a privilege and an honor to serve you and the citizens of Idaho. Sincerely, Jim Kempton President Idaho Public Utilities Commission IPUC Annual Report 2009 3 | P a g e Idaho Public Utilities Commission 472 West Washington Street Boise, Idaho 83702 Mailing Address: P.O. Box 83720 Boise, Idaho 83720‐0074 208/334‐0300 Web site: www.puc.idaho.gov Commission Secretary 334‐0338 jean.jewell@puc.idaho.gov Executive Administrator 334‐0330 Public Information Officer 334‐0339 gene.fadness@puc.idaho.gov. Utilities Division 334‐0368 Legal Division 334‐0324 Rail Section and Pipeline Safety 334‐0330 Consumer Assistance Section 334‐0369 Outside Boise, Toll‐Free Consumer Assistance 1‐800‐432‐0369 Idaho Telephone Relay Service (available statewide) Voice: 1‐800‐377‐1363 Text Telephone: 1‐800‐377‐3529 TRS Information: 1‐800‐368‐6185 With this report, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission has satisfied Idaho Code 61‐214; this is a “full and complete account” of the most significant cases to come before the commission during the 2009 calendar year. (The financial report on Page 8 covers Fiscal Year July 1, 2007 through June 30, 2008.) Anyone with access to the Internet may also review the commission’s agendas, notices, case information and decisions by visiting the IPUC’s Web site at: www.puc.idaho.gov. Commission records are also available for public inspection at the commission’s Boise office, 472 W. Washington St., Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A nominal fee of 5 cents per page may be charged for the cost of copying, typically for 30 or more pages. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission, as outlined in its Strategic Plan, serves the citizens and utilities of Idaho by determining fair, just and reasonable rates for utility commodities and services that are to be delivered safely, reliably and efficiently. During the period covered by this report, the commission also had responsibility for ensuring all rail services operating within Idaho do so in a safe and efficient manner. The commission also has a pipeline safety section that oversees the safe operation of the intrastate natural gas pipelines and facilities in Idaho. IPUC Annual Report 2009 4 | P a g e The Commissioners Jim D. Kempton Commissioner Kempton began his service on the commission on Oct. 22, 2007. Kempton was appointed by Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter to fill the unexpired term of Commissioner Paul Kjellander who was appointed to head the newly created Office of Energy Resources. On April 6, 2009, Commissioner Kempton was elected president of the commission. Before he was appointed to the commission, Kempton was one of two Idaho representatives on the Northwest Power and Conservation Council, appointed to that post by former Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne. While on the council, he also acted as a natural resource cabinet member for Gov. Otter. Kempton, of Albion, was a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 1991‐ 2000, where he served on the House Revenue and Taxation Committee and chaired the Transportation and Defense Committee. Earlier, he served for two years on the Environmental Affairs Committee. Kempton earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in physics from the University of Idaho. He was a fighter pilot in the United States Air Force and an assistant professor of physics at the United States Air Force Academy. He also worked in the Pentagon as Department of Defense liaison between the Secretary of Commerce and Secretary of Defense on international co‐production programs. His Pentagon assignments included Air Force research and development responsibilities in the F‐16 fighter program and coordinating Iranian Program Review briefings to the Secretary of the Air Force. He returned to Idaho in 1981 and was engaged in ranching until 1990, when he was elected to the Idaho Legislature. He is a former member of the "Idaho EPSCoR" Board, a National Science Foundation experimental program to stimulate competitive research. He and his wife, Susan, are the parents of two grown daughters. Marsha H. Smith Commissioner Smith is serving her fourth term on the commission. Her current term expires in January 2015. Smith, a Democrat, served as commission president from November 1991 to April 1995. Commissioner Smith is a past president of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC), serves on the NARUC Board and is a past chair of NARUC’s Electricity Committee. She is an elected director of the Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC) Board of Directors and chairs the WECC Compliance Committee. She is also state co‐chair of the Steering Committee of the Northern Tier Transmission Group. She represents Idaho on the Western Interconnection Regional Advisory Body and chaired the Western Interstate Energy Board’s Committee for Regional Electric Power Cooperation from IPUC Annual Report 2009 5 | P a g e October 1999 Committee, the Harvard Electricity Policy Group, the Idaho State Bar and board president of the Log Cabin Literary Center. Smith received a bachelor of science degree in biology/education from Idaho State University, a master of library science degree from Brigham Young University and her law degree from the University of Washington. Before her appointment to the commission, Commissioner Smith served as deputy attorney general in the business regulation/consumer affairs division of the Office of the Idaho Attorney General and as deputy attorney general for the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. She was the commission's director of Policy and External Affairs and chair of the NARUC Staff Subcommittee on Telecommunications. A fourth‐generation Idahoan, Commissioner Smith has two sons. Mack A. Redford Commisisoner Redford was appointed to the commission in February 2007 by Gov. Butch Otter. During 2008 through April 2009, he served as president of the commission. His term expires in January 2013. At the time of his appointment, Commissioner Redford practiced law for the Boise‐based firm of Elam & Burke PA, specializing in commercial transactions, construction and engineering law, mediation, real estate and general business. Redford grew up in the Weiser and Caldwell areas, graduating from Caldwell High School. He received both his bachelor’s and law degree from the University of Idaho and in 1967 became a deputy in the Idaho attorney general’s office. In 1977, he became a deputy attorney general for the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, headquartered in Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. The territory included a chain of 2,000 islands stretching from Hawaii to the Philippines. In 1981, Redford became general counsel for Morrison Knudsen Engineers and Morrison Knudsen International, a position that took him to Saudi Arabia where MK was building the King Khalid Military City. In 1990‐91, Redford was based in Folkestone, England, where he was legal counsel for the Channel Tunnel Contractors, the builders of the 31‐mile Channel Tunnel connecting England and France. It is the second‐largest rail tunnel in the world. In 1992, Commissioner Redford joined the Boise firm of Park & Burkett. In 1993, he was retained by the World Bank of the Government of Nepal as contract and claims counsel for the Arun Ill Hydroelectric Project. In 1996, he became general counsel for Micron Construction, which was later acquired by Kaiser Engineers. He joined Elam & Burke in 2001. Commissioner Redford and his wife, Nancy, are the parents of two children. IPUC Annual Report 2009 6 | P a g e IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION, 1913‐2008 Commissioner From To J. A. Blomquist May 8, 1913 Jan. 11, 1915 A. P. Ramstedt May 8, 1913 Feb. 8, 1917 D. W. Standrod May 8, 1913 Dec. 1, 1914 John W. Graham Dec. 1, 1914 Jan. 13, 1919 A. L. Freehafer Jan. 14, 1915 Jan. 31, 1921 George E. Erb Dec. 8, 1917 April 14, 1923 Everett M. Sweeley May 23, 1919 Aug. 20, 1923 J. M. Thompson Feb. 1, 1921 Dec. 20, 1932 Will H. Gibson April 16, 1923 June 29, 1929 F. C. Graves Sept. 7, 1923 Nov. 12, 1924 Frank E. Smith March 6, 1925 Feb. 25, 1931 J. D. Rigney July 2, 1929 Sept. 30, 1935 M. Reese Hattabaugh March 2, 1931 Jan. 26, 1943 Harry Holden March 27, 1933 Jan. 31, 1939 J. W. Cornell Oct. 1, 1935 Jan. 11, 1947 R. H. Young Feb. 1, 1939 March 19, 1944 B. Auger Feb. 1, 1943 March 9, 1951 J. D. Rigney March 30, 1944 April 30, 1945 W. B. Joy May 1, 1945 March 9, 1951 H. N. Beamer Jan. 17, 1947 Dec. 31, 1958 George R. Jones March 12, 1951 Jan. 31, 1957 H. C. Allen March 12, 1951 Feb. 28, 1957 A. O. Sheldon March 1, 1957 June 30, 1967 Frank E. Meek Feb. 1, 1957 Feb. 5, 1964 Ralph H. Wickberg Jan. 14, 1959 Feb. 23, 1981 Harry L. Nock May 1, 1964 Sept. 30, 1974 Ralph L. Paris July 1, 1967 Oct. 5, 1967 J. Burns Beal Dec. 1, 1967 April 1, 1973 Robert Lenaghen April 1, 1973 April 15, 1979 M. Karl Shurtliff Oct. 1, 1974 Dec. 31, 1976 Matthew J. Mullaney Jan. 2, 1977 Feb. 15, 1977 Conley Ward, Jr. March 7, 1977 Feb. 9, 1987 Perry Swisher April 16, 1979 Jan. 21, 1991 Richard S. High Feb. 24, 1981 April 30, 1987 Dean J. Miller March 16, 1987 Jan. 30, 1995 Ralph Nelson May 4, 1987 Feb. 12, 1999 Marsha H. Smith Jan. 21, 1991 Now Serving Dennis S. Hansen Feb. 1, 1995 Feb. 19, 2007 Paul Kjellander Feb. 15, 1999 Oct. 19, 2007 Mack Redford Feb. 19, 2007 Now serving Jim Kempton Oct. 22, 2007 Now serving IPUC Annual Report 2009 7 | P a g e Financial Summary FISCAL YEARS 2005 ‐ 2009 Description FY2005 FY2006 FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 Personnel Costs $3,561,082 $3,637,402 $3,467,401 $3,898,109 $4,072,505 Travel $154,345 $144,840 $146,491 $181,275 $136,859 Consultants $590 $40,518 $13,949 $16,041 $0.00 Subscriptions $21,574 $21,722 $28,321 $27.036 $22,883 Emp. Training $35,553 $34,424 $28,827 $33,190 $21,396 Postage $10,798 $8,408 $8,027 $7,174 $8,338 Telephone $32,517 $31,497 $28,007 $27,335 $27,910 Office Supplies $17,309 $14,709 $12,824 $17,697 $14,679 Office Rent $226,357 $115,468 $355,643 $236,497 $236,704 Maintenance $17,724 $8,652 $14,223 $15,817 $10,290 Insurance $1,407 $1,487 $2,702 $5,976 $6,380 Office Equip. $0.00 $0.00 $8,690 $5,279 $1,095 Computer Equip. $38,049 $22,874 $26,809 $15,934 $4,262 Commissioner Equip. $0.00 $3,973 $0.00 $0.00 $22,052 Other Equip. $0.00 $20,082 $0.00 $0.00 $0.00 Other Expenses $114,470 $108,604 $113,671 $122,130 $102,775 ========================================================================= Total Expenditures $4,231,955 $4,214,660 $4,255,596 $4,609,484 $4,688,128 Appropriations $4,612,300 $4,754,600 $4,545,300 $4,944,400 $5,236,800 ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Unexpended Balance $380,345 $539,940 $289,704 $334,916 $548,672 IPUC Annual Report 2009 8 | P a g e Commission Structure and Operations Under state law, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission supervises and regulates Idaho’s investor‐owned utilities – electric, gas, telecommunications and water – assuring adequate service and affixing just, reasonable and sufficient rates. The commission does not regulate publicly owned, municipal or cooperative utilities. The governor appoints the three commissioners with confirmation by the Idaho Senate. No more than two commissioners may be of the same political party. The commissioners serve staggered six‐year terms. The governor may remove a commissioner before his/her term has expired for dereliction of duty, corruption or incompetence. The three‐member commission was established by the 12th Session of the Idaho Legislature and was organized May 8, 1913 as the Public Utilities Commission of the State of Idaho. In 1951 it was reorganized as the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. Statutory authorities for the commission are established in Idaho Code titles 61 and 62. Tell them no! One of the most frequent questions we get after a utility files a rate increase application is, “Why can’t you just tell them no?” For much of the last 90 years, public utility regulation has been based on the “regulatory compact” between utilities and regulators: In return for an exclusive franchise (territory) granted by regulators, utilities agree to serve all those requesting service; and in return for agreeing to invest capital in plant and facilities, utilities are given a reasonable opportunity to earn a fair return on that capital. In setting rates, the commission must consider the needs of both the utility and its customers. The commission serves the public interest, not the popular will. It is not in customers’ best interest, nor is it in the interest of the State of Idaho, to have utilities that do not have the generation, transmission and distribution infrastructure to provide safe, adequate and reliable electrical, natural gas and water service. This is a critical, even life‐saving, service for Idaho’s citizens and essential to the state’s economic development and prosperity. Unlike unregulated businesses, utilities cannot cut back on service as costs increase. As demand for electricity, natural gas and water grows, utilities must meet that demand. In Idaho recently, and across the nation, a continued increase in demand as well as a number of other factors have contributed to rate increases on a scale we have not witnessed before. It is not unusual now for Idaho’s three major investor‐owned electric utilities to file annual rate increase requests. In light of these continued requests for rate increases, the Commission walks a fine line in balancing the needs of utilities to serve customers and customers’ ability to pay. When a rate case is filed, our staff of auditors, engineers and attorneys will take up to six months to examine the request. If we find the added expense incurred by utilities was prudently incurred and needed to serve customers, we have no choice but to allow the utility to recover that expense. However we can, and often do, deny the utilities’ recovery of expenses if we are confident we have the legal justification to do so. All Commission decisions can be appealed to the state Supreme Court. Customers must be ensured of paying a reasonable rate and utilities must be allowed to recover their legitimate costs of serving their customers and earn a fair rate of return. IPUC Annual Report 2009 9 | P a g e The IPUC has quasi‐legislative and quasi‐judicial as well as executive powers and duties. In its quasi‐legislative capacity, the commission sets rates and makes rules governing utility operations. In its quasi‐judicial mode, the commission hears and decides complaints, issues written orders that are similar to court orders and may have its decisions appealed to the Idaho Supreme Court. In its executive capacity, the commission enforces state laws and rules affecting the utilities and rail industries. Commission operations are funded by fees assessed on the utilities and railroads it regulates. Annual assessments are set by the commission each year in April within limits set by law. The commission president is its chief executive officer. Commissioners meet on the first Monday in April in odd‐numbered years to elect one of their own to a two‐year term as president. The president signs contracts on the commission’s behalf, is the final authority in personnel matters and handles other administrative tasks. Chairmanship of individual cases is rotated among all three commissioners. The commission conducts its business in two types of meetings – hearings and decision meetings. Decisions meetings are typically held once a week, usually on Monday. Formal hearings are held on a case‐by‐case basis, sometimes in the service area of the impacted utility. These hearings resemble judicial proceedings and are recorded and transcribed by a court reporter. There are technical hearings and public hearings. At technical hearings, formal parties who have been granted “intervenor status” present testimony and evidence, subject to cross‐examination by attorneys and staff from the other parties and the commissioners. At public hearings, members of the public may testify before the commission. In 2009, the commission began conducting telephonic public hearings to save expense and allow customers to testify from the comfort of their own homes. Commissioners and other interested parties gather in the Boise hearing room and are telephonically connected to ratepayers who call in on a toll‐free line to provide testimony or listen in. A court reporter is present to take testimony by telephone, which has the same legal weight as if the person testifying were present in the hearing room. Commissioners and attorneys may also direct questions to those testifying. The commission also conducts regular decision meetings to consider issues on an agenda prepared by the commission secretary and posted in advance of the meeting. These meetings are usually held Mondays at 1:30 p.m., although by law the commission is required to meet only once a month. Members of the public are welcome to attend decision meetings. Typically, decision meetings consist of the commission’s review of decision memoranda prepared by commission staff. Minutes of the meetings are taken and decisions reached at these meetings are preliminary, becoming final only when issued in a written order signed by a majority of the commission. IPUC Annual Report 2009 10 | P a g e Commission Staff To help ensure its decisions are fair and workable, the commission employs a staff of about 50 people – engineers, rate analysts, attorneys, accountants, investigators, economists, secretaries and other support personnel. The commission staff is organized in three divisions – administration, legal and utilities. The staff analyzes each petition, complaint, rate increase request or application for an operating certificate received by the commission. In formal proceedings before the commission, the staff acts as a separate party to the case, presenting its own testimony, evidence and expert witnesses. The commission considers staff recommendations along with those of other participants in each case ‐ including utilities, public, agricultural, industrial, business and consumer groups. Administration The Administrative Division is responsible for coordinating overall IPUC activities. The division includes the three commissioners, two policy strategists, a commission secretary, an executive administrator, an executive assistant and support personnel. The two policy strategists are executive level positions reporting directly to the commissioners with policy and technical consultation and research support regarding major regulatory issues in the areas of electricity, telecommunications, water and natural gas. Strategists are also charged with developing comprehensive policy strategy, providing assistance and advice on major litigation before the commission, public agencies and organizations. (Contact Lou Ann Westerfield, 334‐0323 and Wayne Hart, 334‐0354, policy analysts.) The commission secretary, a post established by Idaho law, keeps a precise public record of all commission proceedings. The secretary issues notices, orders and other documents to the proper parties and is the official custodian of documents issued by and filed with the commission. Most of these documents are public records. (Contact Jean Jewell, commission secretary, at 334‐0338.) The executive administrator has primary responsibility for the commission’s fiscal and administrative operations, preparing the commission budget and supervising fiscal, administration, public information, personnel, information systems, rail section operations and pipeline safety. The executive administrator also serves as a liaison between the commission and other state agencies and the Legislature. (Contact Ron Law, executive administrator, at 334‐0331.) The executive assistant is responsible for public communication between the Commission, the general public and interfacing governmental offices. The responsibility includes news releases, responses to public inquiries, coordinating and facilitating commission workshops and public hearings and the preparation and coordination of any IPUC report directed or recommended by the Idaho Legislature or Governor. (Contact Gene Fadness, executive assistant, at 334‐0339.) IPUC Annual Report 2009 11 | P a g e Legal Division Five deputy attorneys general are assigned to the commission from the Office of the Attorney General and have permanent offices at IPUC headquarters. The IPUC attorneys represent the staff in all matters before the commission, working closely with staff accountants, engineers, investigators and economists as they develop their recommendations for rate case and policy proceedings. In the hearing room, IPUC attorneys coordinate the presentation of the staff’s case and cross‐examine other parties who submit testimony. The attorneys also represent the commission itself in state and federal courts and before other state or federal regulatory agencies. (Contact Don Howell, legal division director, at 334‐0312.) Utilities Division The Utilities Division, responsible for technical and policy analysis of utility matters before the commission, is divided into three sections. (Contact Randy Lobb, utilities division administrator, at 334‐0350.) The Accounting Section of seven auditors audits utility books and records to verify reported revenue, expenses and compliance with commission orders. Staff auditors present the results of their findings in audit reports as well as in formal testimony and exhibits. When a utility requests a rate increase, cost‐of‐capital studies are performed to determine a recommended rate of return. Revenues, expenses and investments are analyzed to determine the amount needed for the utility to earn the recommended return on its investment. (Contact Terri Carlock, accounting section supervisor, at 334‐0356.) The Engineering Section, which includes seven engineers, reviews the physical operations of utilities. Staff engineers determine the cost of serving various types of customers, design utility rates and allocate costs between Idaho and the other states served by Idaho utilities. They determine the cost effectiveness of conservation and co‐ generation programs, evaluate the adequacy of utility services and frequently help resolve customer complaints. The group develops computer models of utility operations and reviews utility forecasts of energy usage and the need for new facilities. (Contact Dave Schunke, engineering section supervisor, at 334‐0355.) The Telecommunications Section includes three analysts who handle issues involving telecommunications. (Contact Joe Cusick, section supervisor, at 334‐0333.) The Consumer Assistance Section includes six division investigators who resolve conflicts between utilities and their customers. Customers faced with service disconnections often seek help in negotiating payment arrangements. Consumer Assistance may mediate disputes over billing, deposits, line extensions and other service problems. Consumer Assistance monitors Idaho utilities to verify they are complying with commission orders and regulations. Investigators participate in general rate and policy cases when rate design and customer service issues are brought before the commission. (Contact Beverly Barker, administrator for the Consumer Assistance section, at 334‐0302.) IPUC Annual Report 2009 12 | P a g e Rail Section The Rail Section oversees the safe operations of railroads that move passengers and freight in and through Idaho and enforces state and federal regulations safeguarding the transportation of hazardous materials by rail in Idaho. The commission’s rail safety specialist inspects railroad crossings and rail clearances for safety and maintenance deficiencies. The Rail Section investigates all railroad‐crossing accidents and makes recommendations for safety improvements to crossings. As part of its regulatory authority, the commission evaluates the discontinuance and abandonment of railroad service in Idaho by conducting an independent evaluation of each case to determine whether the abandonment of a particular railroad line would adversely affect Idaho shippers and whether the line has any profit potential. Should the commission determine abandonment would be harmful to Idaho interests, it then represents the state before the federal Surface Transportation Board, which has authority to grant or deny line abandonments. (Contact Ron Law, rail section supervisor, at 334‐ 0331.) Pipeline Safety Program The pipeline safety section oversees the safe operation of the intrastate natural gas pipelines and facilities in Idaho. The commission’s pipeline safety personnel verify compliance of state and federal regulations by on‐site inspections of intrastate gas distribution systems operating in the state. Part of the inspection process includes a review of record‐ keeping practices and compliance with design, construction, operation, maintenance and drug/alcohol abuse regulations. Key objectives of the program are to monitor accidents and violations, to identify their contributing factors and to implement practices to avoid accidents. All reportable accidents will be investigated and appropriate reports filed with the U.S. Department of Transportation in a timely manner. (Contact Ron Law, pipeline safety program supervisor, at 334‐ 0331.)