20220816Pacificorp Comments.pdf

Y ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Po\AIER
A OlvlsloN OF NOECORP , -; ;,'.,:l i-; fii ij:0t:1407 W. North Temple, Suite 330
Salt Lake City, Utah 84116
August 16,2022
VIA ELECTRONIC DELIWRY
Jan Noriyuki
Commission Secretary
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
I1331 W Chinden Blvd
Building 8 Suite 20lA
Boise,ID 83714
Re:CASE NO. GNR.E-22.02
IN TIIE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR TIIE REGULATION OF LIGHT
EMITTING DIODE STREETLIGIITS
Dear Ms. Noriyuki
Enclosed for electronic filing in the above-mentioned matter are Rocky Mountain Power's
comments opposing this petition.
Very truly yours,
S-rr^.CJoelle Steward
SVP, Regulation and Customer / Community Solutions
Enclosures
Emily L. Wegener (ISB# 11614)
Rocky Mountain Power
1407 W. North Temple, Suite 320
Salt Lake Ciry, Utah 841l6
Telephone: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Attorneyfor Roclcy Mountain Power
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION
IN TITE MATTER OF THE PETITION FOR
THE REGULATION OF LIGHT EMITTING
DIODE STREETLIGHTS
CASE NO. GNR.E.22-02
COMMENTS OF
ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp (the "Company"), a public utility in
the state of Idaho pursuant to Idaho Code $ 6l-129, hereby files comments with the Idaho
Public Utilities Commission ("Commission") responding to the above-referenced petition
("Petition") of Soft Lights Foundation ("Petitioner"). In response to this petition, Rocky
Mountain Power states as follows:
l. PacifiCorp is an Oregon corporation, located at 1407 West North Temple, Salt
Lake City, Utah 841 16, is authorized to do and is doing business in the State of ldaho. The
Company provides retail electric service to approximately 86,500 customers in the state and is
subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission. The Company's retail certificated service
territory encompasses portions of Fremont, Madison, Teton, Clark, Jefferson, Lemhi, Oneida,
Bannock, Franklin, Caribou, Butte, Bingham, Bear Lake, and Bonneville counties.
2. The Company offers two Electric Service Schedules for streetlighting, Schedule
I I - Company owned systems and Schedule 12 - Customer owned systems. Under Schedule
)
)
)
)
)
)
COMMENTS OF
ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
Page I
I I there are 384 streetlights of which 3l are Light Emitting Diode ("LED") lights. On Schedule
12 there 4,285 streetlights with 445 LED lights.
3. Avista Corp. filed comments with the Commission on August8,2022 opposing
the Petition. Rocky Mountain Power agrees with and supports those comments and provides
its own comments as follows.
L BACKGROUNI)
4. On July 6, 2022, the Petitioner filed requesting the Commission: 1) require
Idaho utilities to wait for the U.S. Food and Federal Drug Administration's ("FDA") approval
and regulation of LED products prior to the sale or installation of any LED streetlights; 2)
direct utility companies to inform consumers via their website that LEDs (i) have not been
approved by the FDA; (ii) are low-quality lights and not energy efficient; and (iii) that LED
light has been shown to cause significant negative health effects.
IL RESPONSE
5. Petitioner requests that the Commission require Idaho utilities to wait for FDA
approval and regulation. Given that the FDA has not regulated the use of LED lighting and
there is no indication that LED lighting has a harmful effect on customers, the Company does
not agree that the Commission has the authority to require utility companies or its customers
to wait for FDA approval and regulation of LED products. Petitioner cites Idaho Statutes
sections 6l-302 and 6l-3348 in support of the Commission's authority to regulate the
Company's use of LED lighting "to ensure the protection of the public health and welfare."
But the FDA, which is the federal agency tasked with regulating devices that emit radiation,
has not determined that LED lighting harms public health and welfare. LED lighting is legal
and has been widely used for over a decade. The FDA is only required to regulate certain types
COMMENTS OF
ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
Page2
of devices, and, as acknowledged by Petitioner, the FDA has determined that LED lighting
does not fall into this category. I Petitioner appears to acknowledge that the FDA has not
regulated the use of LED streetlighting in any way and is not required to do so.2 tf Petitioner
is concerned about the FDA's inadequate exercise of its power, it should direct its legal action
toward the FDA instead of public utilities. It is the Company's position that if there were
adverse health effects from LED lighting, that the FDA is the agency with jurisdiction over
such health effects and that any regulation of LED products should be implemented nationally
not on a state-by-state basis.
6. Petitioner requests the Commission direct utility companies to inform
consumers via their website that LEDs have not been approved by the FDA. As explained
above, the FDA is not required to regulate LED lighting and has chosen not to do so. Moreover,
advising customers about consumer products is outside of the Commission's purview.
7. Petitioner also requests the Commission inform customers that LED light is
low quality, arguing that early designs of white LED lighting generated a color spectrum with
excessive blue wavelength. However, it is the Company's understanding that LED technology
has advanced from early designs, and current solid state LED technology has addressed the
issues with the color spectrum. The Department of Energy has stated than a LED light source
with the same CCT as a non-LED source has about the same amount of blue spectral content.
8. Petitioner incorrectly claims LED lights are not energy efficient and seeks to
have the Commission require utilities to inform customers of this inaccurate claim. The main
reason for converting to LED streetlights is energy efficiency; LED lighting can reduce energy
I As noted by Petitioner, the FDA has determined that LEDs "are different from laser diodes" and not regulated.
Comments at 2.
2 See Petition at2,6-10.
COMMENTS OF
ROCKY MOLINTAIN POWER
Page 3
consumption by up to 50 percent compared with conventional high-pressure sodium (HPS)
lighting by producing the same level of light using up to 50 percent less energy. LED lighting
has no wannup requirement with a rapid "turn on and off'at full intensity, and in the event of
a power outage, LED lights can turn on instantly when power is restored, while sodium-based
lighting requires prolonged warrn up periods. LED lighting also has the inherent capability to
be dimmed or tuned, so that further energy savings can be achieved by reducing illumination
levels during off peak usage times. LED lighting also has a lifespan of l5 - 20 years (50,000
hours) , which is two to four times the lifespan of conventional HPS lighting. This significantly
reduces maintenance costs by decreasing the frequency of fixture or bulb replacement. Further,
unlike conventional HPS lighting, the light output is very consistent across cold or warrn
temperature gradients. LED lights also do not require any internal reflectors or glass covers,
allowing higher efficiency as well, if designed properly.
9. Petitioner also seeks to require utilities to inform customers that LED light have
been shown to cause significant negative health effects. The American Medical Association
("AMA") supports the proper conversion to community-based LED lighting3, which reduces
energy consumption and decreases the use of fossil fuels. The AMA provides guidelines
relating to LED lighting, including minimizing, and controlling blue-rich environmental
lighting for outdoor installations such as roadways. Also, LED lighting has no mercury or lead,
and does not release any toxic substances if damaged, unlike mercury or HPS lighting, which
is a health benefit to customers.
3 Council on Science and Public Health Report 2 Recommendations Adopted, page 6 recommendation number
I line 39.
COMMENTS OF
ROCKY MOUNTATN POWER
Page 4
10. PacifiCorp offers an array of lighting that fits the "industry standards" set forth
by LED vendors, National Electrical Manufacturer's Association ("NEMA"), Illuminating
Engineering Society (IES), and the International Dark-Sky Association (lDA). The Company
does not engineer projects for our customers. If customers choose to have the Company install
and maintain lighting for their communities, the customer selects the amount of light (lumen
output) and the correlated color temperature ("CCT") level from the Company's standards,
either 3000K or 4000K. The Company has adopted IDA standards to allow our customers the
CCT that qualifies for Dark-Skies compliance. All the Company's lighting is on photocell
controls (dusk-to-dawn), and shielding is available.
I l. The lighting industry has changed, and the new technology is nearly all LED;
HPS fixtures are no longer available for purchase. The Company can still purchase HPS lamps
as replacement parts to the fixtures but as fixtures fail, ballast and starting aids are irreparable.
Therefore, the Company is replacing HPS as they fail with the lumen equivalent LED fixture.
It would be extremely difficult to comply with a Commission order requiring utilities to stop
using LED lighting until the FDA has weighed in.
12. The Company's use and recommendations relating to LED lighting is consistent
with the standards advocated by NEMA, which represents nearly 400 electrical, medical
imaging, and radiation therapy manufacturers on the forefront of electrical safety, reliability,
resilience, efficiency, and energy security. NEMA is a long-time proponent of good quality
lighting design and application with technical standards and guidance for manufacturers and
their end-use customers. Both NEMA and AMA recommend: l) Using lighting control options
such as motion or dusk-to-dawn sensors; 2) Shielding the light source to curtail excessive
COMMENTS OF
ROCKY MOUNTATN POWER
Page 5
upJight, sidelight, and glare; and 3) Designing for the minimum light levels and energy
necessary for the task. NEMA and its lighting manufacturer members support the proper
application of light at the right placement, right time and in the right amount. NEMA members
actively assist installers and customers with the best application and maintenance of their
products. The Company installs street lighting consistent with these recommendations and
encourages communities to do the same.
[I. CONCLUSIONS
The Commission should not require utilities to wait for FDA approval before installing LED
lighting and should not require utilities to inform customers of the Petitioner's unsupported
concerns about LED lighting. For the reasons listed above, Rocky Mountain Power
respectfully requests that the Commission deny this petition.
DATED this 166 day of August,2022.
Respectfully submitted,
By fl^e-)o
COMMENTS OF
ROCKY MOUNTAIN POWER
Emily L. Wegener
1407 WestNorth Temple, Suite 320
salt Lake ciry, utah 841l6
Telephone No. [phone]
Mobile No. [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Attorneyfor Roclcy Mountoin Power
Page 6