2003012420030124.pdf

p(C'EIVEO To: Idaho Public Utilities Commission '1\ '"'r:n
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LuG) JM4 23 PH ll: 36
Case #IPC-02-13 .
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"'l'~\ tf'In t~e ma~er of Idaho Power .Company s Application for authority to i~pl~~~~~a ct~H~PJ~JeW conditionercyclIng pIlot program and tanff schedule 81 U I \ L II I ~
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While I applaud Idaho Power s efforts at conservation and cost contairiliient;ram opposed to the residential air
conditioner cycling pilot program for a number of reasons.
1. Even though this is a voluntary program, history has shown that voluntary and temporary soon become
mandatory and permanent. Examples of this would be seat belts and sales tax. I personally would not be
pleased with Idaho Power or any other company for that matter being in control of my comfort or
spending. The application states that the program has an expiration date of September 30, 2004
, "
unless
extended by the Company." Does the Idaho Public Utilities Commission have final authority on the
extension?
2. According to the application the company will be in total control of the selection of the participants.
Will any organization outside Idaho Power be overseeing this step in the process? If there is no
oversight ofthe selection process what measures will be in place to keep the company from stacking the
deck in order to receive the company s desired outcome? The company could easily select their
employees as "volunteers
3. The $5.00 monthly credit hardly seems like a fair trade-off for the customer s inconvenience and
comfort even with the programmable thermostat thrown in to sweeten the deal.
4. What makes up the $820 000.00 estimated cost? 500 customer s (q) $5.00 a month for 3 months for 2
years equates to $15 000.00. 100 programmable thermostats (fY $100.00 each equates to $50 000.00.
That adds up to $65 000.00. What is the remaining $775 000.00 going to be used for? The cost of this
program seems excessive to me.
5. It's not clear how the effectiveness ofthis program will be assessed. Will there be other household
groups to use for comparison? Will there be a group selected that volunteers to adjust their thermostats
to reduce their usage during the peak times? Will there be a group selected at random that does nothing?
What stats will the company be using to do a comparison? Or will there be no comparison? The
company seems to be in control ofthe effectiveness rating.
6. What really happens during the 4 hour cycling time frame? Does the company turn off the customers
AC for 4 hours at a time? Does the company turn the thermostat off and on for a set amount of minutes?
If so, doesn t that reduce the life of the air conditioning unit? Does the thermostat stay off until the
household temperature reaches a certain degree? And if so, what will the specified temperature be 80
, or whatever the company decides for that day? If the customer s air conditioning is turned off
until 9:00 p.m. how long will it take to return the house s temperature down to a comfortable sleeping
degree?
7. What's prior notice? The customer has to give notice by 4:00 p.m. and can only "opt out" one day a
month. The company has no such requirements for coming into the customer s house.8. If a customer chooses to terminate their participation after the first complete cycle, will the company
remove the sensor and show the customer how to program the thermostat at no charge?
9. If programmable thermostats have been shown to reduce energy usage, why doesn t the company offer aprogram for customers to buy them from the company with installment payments and possibly credits to
the customer s bills for reduced power usage during summer months?
Until Idaho Power can satisfactorily answer these questions and any additional questions that customers may
have I respectfully request that the Idaho Public Utilities Commission deny this application.