20180327Comment.pdf

Diane Holt
From:[e-mail]
Sent:Monday,March 26,2018 4:55 PM
To:BeverlyBarker;Diane Holt;Matthew Evans
Subject:Case Comment Form:Norma White
Name:Norma White
Case Number:AVU -E -17 -09
Email:[e-mail]
Telephone:
Address:
Athol ID,83801
Name of Utility Company:KEC
Comment:Please do not approve the sale of Avista Utility to Canadiangovernment-owned monopoly,Hydro One.
Idaho Code 61-328 specifies that an electric utilitymay transfer property only if the Commission finds that:
*Rates will not increase because of the transaction
According to OpenEI.org,HydroOne has North America's highest cost electricity,as of 2015 at 29.9 cents/kilowatt-hour
(low density urban),a direct result of green energy laws.HydroOne projects increasesto 66.2 cents in 2018 and 83.9
cents in 2019,a level 12 times larger than Avista's 2016 small business rate of 7.1cents per kilowatt-hour and 35 times
larger than Washington's Chelanand DouglasCounty PUD's 2.36 cents/kwhr rate.
Hydro One has commitments to subsidizing "green"energy,cap &trade mandates,deterioratinginfrastructure
improvements,and pensions;the rising cost of which will surely be born by American ratepayers-notwithstanding
assurances to the contrary.
*The buyer has the intent and financial ability to operate and maintain the property in the public service.
It seems that the buyer's intent is to increase Hydro One shareholder value--of which the Province of Ontario owns at
least 40%-rather than serving the public interest of Idahoans and other Americans affected by the sale.It appears that
the government of Ontario wants to spread the net and capture more ratepayers to fund Hydro One's debt while
controllinga monolithic,transnational monopoly.
*The transaction is consistent with the public interest.
It cannot be in the public interest of American citizens to transfer control of our hydroelectric systems to a foreign entity
controlled by a foreign government that sets the electricity rates,rather than the Idaho PUC.There would be no
accountability-either to ratepayers,nor to the state of Idaho-andno recourse once the monopoly is in place.
It is reported that Hydro One's service is poor,that it charges ratepayers more for deterioratingservice yet ignored
10,000 complaints about high costs,that outages are 30%Ionger,24%more frequent,and that their transmission
system is in considerable disrepair,the least reliable of Canada'sdistributioncompanies.What will happen to our
distribution systems if they take them over?
Thank you for your consideration.
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