20030512Comment.pdf

Jean JewellFrom:Sent:To:Subject:Tonya ClarkFriday, May 09 2003 7:43 AMJean JewellFW: Comment on IPC-03-S (Idaho Power rate decrease proposal)-----Original Message-----From: Sharon n Mary (mail to: sharmar1~mindspring. com)Sent: Thursday, May 08 2003 16 PMTo: Bill Eastlake; Lou Ann Westerfield; Lynn Anderson;FadnessSubj ect: Comment on IPC-E-03-Tonya Clark; Gene(Idaho Power rate decrease proposal)ve been following media coverage and Idaho Power customer flyers regardingtwo issues: the cost of electrici ty, and Idaho Power s Green Power Program.My suggestion , in response to the current request for a rate decrease , isfor Idaho Power to buy ALL of its power from "green " resources while keepingthe rates at their current level (or lower , if possible) Based upon the information I ve seen , this appears completely do-able!The "Proposed Rate Reduction " flyer from Idaho Power (dated 4/15/03 andincluded in our 4/21/03 monthly bill) stated: "if the PCA is approved requested , a typical monthly residential bill for 1 200 kilowatt-hours woulddecrease from $85 to $69. This decrease would become effective May 162003.
A recent "the Green Power program: A Resource of Choice " flyer from Idaho
Power states "Our average residential customer uses 1 200 kilowatt-hours of
electricity each month. If you were to match 100 percent of your
electricity with green power , it would cost about $15 per month in additionto your electrici ty charge.
Thus , it sounds like a company-wide conversion to 100 green power (i.
green power for 100 of Idaho Power customers) would mean the average
customer s bill would go from $85 to $84 per month ($69 for the
proposed/decreased amount , plus $15 for green power)This would stillreflect a slight decrease while providing a wonderful environmental benefit
for all customers.
Here s even more reason for this to be done at the Idaho Power level (i.
for all customers , thus providing real change for the environment and our
collective health), than at the customer level (i.e. through a voluntary
donate some $ each month" campaign)
Lori Bird , a senior energy analyst wi th the National Renewable Energy
Laboratory in Golden , Colo., said there will always be a portion of the
population that will not support renewable energy because they believe it'
more expensive than tradi tional power.
" "
Green Power " article by Ken Dey,
The Idaho Statesman , April 6 , 2003. Of course , if customers must "add" an
amount to their monthly bill , then green electricity IS more expensive thantradi tional sources - or at least such a payment method increases the
perception that green costs more!
Theresa Drake , who heads up the (Green Power) program for Idaho Power
would ultimately like to see at least 3 800 customers , about 1 percent of
total customers , participating.Just 1 percent??? Surely Idaho Power has
employees in leadership positions who see the wisdom of generating ALL oftheir electrici ty from green sources such as solar , geothermal , ocean waveswind, and fuel cells using "green " hydrogen (for example: via wind turbinesseparating water molecules , rather than derived from natural gas)Al so , I ' d i ma gin e t hat a "1 0 0 g r e e n power " pol icy a I d a ho P 0 we r w 0 u 1 d h e 1 pthe company s bottom line , since green power is more stable and thereforewouldnt pose as many surprises in between rate adjustment proposals.According to the same April 6 article in the Statesman: " . . unliketradi tional power generation , the price of producing green power isndependent on the volatile price for fossil fuels. Bird said customers in green power program in Austin , Texas , found out the benefi ts of renewableenergy during the recent energy crisis. Customers in the program werepaying a set price per kilowatt for their green energy, which at the outsetof the program was higher than energy produced wi th natural gas. But duringthe energy crisis , when gas prices soared , the renewable energy suddenlybecame very affordable.I realize that this suggestion is likely "too late , since some might thinkit too difficul t to put posi ti ve spin on only a slight decrease since alarge decrease has already been publicly proposed. However I would like strongly suggest that the PUC and Idaho Power work closely to develop themost aggressive possible "green " program - this year if possible , anddefini tely for years to come.If my "100 green power company-wide this year " suggestion can t happen forthis rate adj ustment cycle , please at least consider phasing in a "100green power " policy over a specified period. For example , changing the mixto green power at a rate of more green power per year would get us therein 10 years , while the voluntary enrollment concept will apparently neverget us there!Finally, I would also like to see a requirement that Idaho Power publiclydisclose on a regular basis (for example , on an annual basis at least
month or two before each requested rate adjustment is publicly announced)
the current sources of power , along wi th their respecti ve percentages
percent hydro percent coal percent wind , and so forth)It would
be helpful if such information were provided as a comparison to previous
years , so that all customers could easily see how much progress is being
made toward "greening " our electricity. (As a bonus I suspect such a chart
would encourage more of us to enroll in the voluntary program , if for some
reason that has to continue due to absence of an Idaho Power commi tment to
our environment and heal th.
Thank you for the opportuni ty to comment.
Sincerely,
Sharon Matthies
7103 Rosewood Dr.
Boise , ID 83709
208-375-9384
P. S. I have to say that statements along the lines of "well , if only
percent of our customers are invested in the idea of green power , then why
should we as a company invest in the idea?" are simply bogus , flimsy excuses
for not embracing what is clearly the right thing to do. It doesn t take
special kind of intelligence to see that coal power , and nuclear power , and
even hydro power , are simply not healthy for our planet (and that includes
those of us living on the planet)absolutely certain that the level of
voluntary enrollment in a green program does not correlate to the percentage
of people who actually believe in it and desire it. For example , what if
the EPA were funded through voluntary taxpayer dollars instead of as part ofthe federal budget? Let's say that people could add some dollars to their
tax return each year in order to fund the EPA. What percentage of taxpaying
ci tizens would do so? And how would that correspond to the percentage ofci tizens who believe that the EPA should exist and that it does importantwork? I suspect that the numbers would be qui te di vergent! P. P. S. I am one of the 99+ percent of customers who hasn t startedparticipating in the Green Power Program , despite the fact that I m quite tree hugger (buy organic food whenever possible; buy recycled paper productswhenever possible; don t use toxic chemicals in the yard or the house; my13-year-old car gets 30/40 and my next car will be a hybrid or other suchvehicle that gets much , much better mileage; belong to a variety ofprogressive non-profi ts; invest in socially responsible mutual funds;continue to educate myself on green products and buy more and more of themeach year as a percentage of our household consumption; recycle everythingpossible and constantly work to reduce material consumption to begin wi th;keep the house around 68 in the winter; run the AC maybe one or two weeks inthe summer; etc.So why haven I yet enrolled in the Green Powerprogram? I 'm simply not convinced that the extra $5 , $10 or $15 per monthwould even buy green power , and I totally don t get why Idaho Power isnaggressively investing in the conversion to green either by itself , or elseright alongside the customers. Also , if all we ll ever get is one tinypercent of green power , then I d rather invest my $180 per year ($15 permonth times 12) in other green ways. On the other hand , if Idaho Power saidsomething (or the PUC required something) like: "If x percent of customerssupport green power , then Idaho Power will support green power by a factorof 10 - or 20 - or 30." and if there were regular public reports showingthe conversion to green power really happening - then I d start adding themoney to my monthly payment.