20080606Comment.pdf

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Jean Jewell
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fbrooks16~comcast. net
Thursday, June 05, 2008 4:39 PM
Tonya Clark; Jean Jewell; Beverly Barker; Gene Fadness; Ed Howell
PUC Comment Form
A Comment from Frank Brooks follows:
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Case Number: ATL~E~08~2
Name: Frank Brooks
Address: 52 EI Camino Avenue
City: San Rafael
State: CA
Zip: 94901
Daytime Telephone: 415~459-3943
Contact E-Mail: fbrooks16~comcast.net
Name of Utility compa~ATLANTA POWER
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Please describe your comment briefly:
Dear Sirs:
We are part time residents of Atlanta and 18 year customers of Atlanta Power, paying the
Schedule 3 seasonal rate. We are shocked by a request for a 137% monthly rate increase. We
understand the past years difficulties caused by the turbine failure, but need to point out
that many of these are problems are caused by the mismanagement of Atlanta Power.
Unfortunately, now the customers are being asked to pay for these mistakes and negligence.
Atlanta Power has deferred and ignored maintaining its infrastructure, and there have been
innumerable breakdowns in that system, for many years before the 2007 turbine failure. I
encourage the PUC to visit Atlanta and see how run down the power system is.
I believe the PUC required Atlanta Power to have a standby generator and Mr. Ray ignored that
requirement. After the turbine failure, the Atlanta customers were without power for weeks on
end. Customers were given excuse after excuse why the generator could not work, various
mechanical failures, unsuccessful equipment auctions, etc.
For the last three years the time we have spent in Atlanta, our cabin had no or intermittent
power. The power that was delivered was often of poor quality , resulting in brown outs, and
damaging computers and appliancesj the food that had to come up the three hours from Boise
often spoiled in the refrigerator. Most of the other Atlanta Power customers we know are
discussing ways to go "off grid" with either propane, solar or generator, because of the
terrible service provided by Atlanta Power.
Not only is the system plagued by outages but there is rarely an available contact person to
notify in the case of a power failure, to even get a sense of when the system will go back on
line. The local contacts are unhelpful and even hostile, and Mr. Ray is di fficul t to reach
and often 3 hours away in Caldwell.
We respectfully request that if the PUC grants Atlanta Power this requested rate increase,
you also need to also establish some ground rules for their customer service issues.
Specifically, a 24/7 contact person, a business plan detailing planned maintenance on the
Power company equipment (dam turbine, back-up generators and power lines and poles, etc.) and
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an emergency plan to address future catastrophic equipment break downs , like the 2007
turbine failure.
Sincerely,
Jack Penix
Frank Brooks
77 Quartz St
Atlanta, iO 83601
The form submi ted on http://www . puc. idaho. gov /forms/ipuc1/ipuc. html
IP address is 24.4.131.157- - - ---- ---- -- ----- --- - - ---- - - -- - -- --
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