20030602Response to Senator Kennedy.pdf

IDAHO
PUBLIC UTiliTIEScommission
Dirk Kempthome, Govemor
o. Box 83720, Boise, Idaho 83720-0074
Paul Kjellander, President
Marsha H. Smith, Commissioner
Dennis S. Hansen, Commissioner
May 2, 2003
Senator Fred Kennedy
865 Galena Court
Mountain Home, Idaho 83647
RE: Case No. ATL-03-
Dear Senator Kennedy,
At the request of Commissioner Paul Kjellander, I am responding to your letter of
April 29, 2003 regarding problems in the Atlanta Power service territory. As you know, the .
Commission has an open docket, Case No. ATL-03-, established to specifically solicit
comments on the Staff's investigative report and the proposed Commission Order. The
documents sent to you by residents of Atla..'lta, Idaho were also received by the Cow.nllssion and
are part of the official record in that case.
It is clear from the filed documents that some Atlanta residents are not satisfied with the
process used by the Commission to address service quality problems, nor are they satisfied with
conclusions in the Staff Report or the proposed Order. Staff fully intends to respond to the
questions and concerns raised in the comments and continue to work with both the customers
and Atlanta Power in hopes of achieving a solution that is satisfactory to both parties.
As indicated in your letter, electric service quality has been a problem in the Atlanta area
since service began. The remote, rugged service territory combined with the limited number of
customers makes it very difficult to provide reliable service at a reasonable price. As part of its
investigation, the Staff conducted a fmancial audit of the Company, p~rformed a customer
survey to assess customer attitudes, and identified system improvement alternatives and
associated costs. Based on the information gathered and discussions with the Company, Staff
developed and presented recommendations to the Col11mission that we believe will improve the
situation. I have attached the Audit Report, the Staff Investigative Report including the
Customer Survey, and the proposed Commission Order.
The delay in completing the investigation was at least in part due to the difficulty in
reaching both customers and the Company to conduct the survey and obtain financial and
operational information. The Staff recommendations resulting from that investigation represent
a compromise that balances the service quality expectations of customers with the need to
Located at 472 West Washington Street, Boise, Idaho 83702
Telephone: [phone] Facsimile: [phone]
Senator Fred Kennedy
May 2, 2003
Page 2
maintain afmancially viable company with rates that are at least somewhat affordable. The
balance between these competing interests has always been fragile for Atlanta Power and its
customers. The alternative to compromise one way or another seems ultimately to be
discontinuation of any electric service to Atlanta because service becomes unaffordable or
providing service becomes financially nonviable.
Obviously, some customers do not agree with Staff's assessment. Therefore, we have
recommended to the Commissioners that a decision be delayed in this case to allow Staff an
opportunity to respond to customer questions and concerns in writing. We further recommended
that a workshop be held in Atlanta to discuss that response with customers. Finally, we
recommended that the Commission give all parties an opportunity to supplement their comments
before a final decision is made. Perhaps you can attend the workshop, which we have
recommended the Commission schedule sometime in June. In any case, we will send a copy of
our written response to you before the workshop takes place.
. I hope my response and the attached information is helpful.
Sincerely
1?~
Randy Lobb
Utilities Division Administrator
Attachments
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