20200413Embodied Virtue Comment.pdf

JEff Pufnock MSOM L.Ac Ph.D
JEssicA Youngs MSOM L.Ac
Embodied Virtue
307 Church St, Sandpoint ID, 83864
307 Church St, Sandpoint ID
[e-mail]: 208-254-1188
W W W . E M b o d i e d v i r t u e . c o m
Jeff Pufnock and Jessica Youngs
[e-mail]
April 6, 2020Paul Kjellander, PresidentIdaho Public Utilities CommissionP.O. Box 83720Boise, ID 83720
RE: Request for a Public Hearing on Avista’s 2020 Electric Integrated Resource Plan, Case No. AVU-E-19-01
President Kjellander and Commissioners of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission:
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission (“IPUC”) recently opened a case to consider the 2020 Electric Integrated Resource Plan (“IRP”) for Avista Corporation, doing business as Avista Utilities (“Avista”). Avista supplies the electricity for our clinic, as well as many other small businesses in downtown Sandpoint. We recently relocated to Sandpoint from Oregon to start our acupuncture and herbal medicine business because we were drawn to the natural beauty that surrounds us here in northern Idaho. Not only do we depend on Avista for affordable electricity, but we also depend on the foresight of your company to continue to invest in clean and renewable sources of power generation. Clean electricity supports a healthy environment that helps our patients be at their best health.
The demographics of Sandpoint and other surrounding areas of northern Idaho and the Pacific Northwest have seen a dramatic shift over the last few years. These areas have seen an influx of people from California and other parts of the U.S. that seek this area as a place of natural beauty, recreation, and resilience against the effects of climate change. We have noticed this through our interaction with our patients, as well as their impressions of how Sandpoint is growing as a community. With these demographic shifts comes a change in priority and viewpoint towards the source and sustainability of the resources that our community consumes.
However, running a business in rural North Idaho, we don’t often have the opportunity to directly share our interests and concerns on these important matters at Avista’s headquarters in Spokane or before the IPUC in Boise. Additionally, it is difficult for Avista to fully appreciate the shifting focus of the Sandpoint community from afar. Therefore, we welcome the opportunity to help Avista ensure your IRP is effectively navigating the changing landscape of utilities here in our community by holding a public hearing. We hope the IPUC understands the value in this and shares an opportunity for businesses like ours to participate in a public hearing in Sandpoint on Avista’s IRP.
Respectfully,
RECEIVED
2020 April 13,PM2:09
IDAHO PUBLIC
UTILITIES COMMISSION