20051213Comments.pdf

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Casey M. Mitchell
13333 W. Fig Street
Boise Idaho 83713
[phone]
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,I Ii J J December 9 2005
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
472 W. Washington Street
Boise Idaho 83702
First, I just received notice of a utilities increase and am opposed to the amounts
proposed. According to the letter by Mr. Ric Gale included- the average residential bill
for those using 1200 KHz per month would increase $5.00 or more. This could be an
average of 6.19 up to over II % depending on the PCA component.
Second, the way Mr. Gale disseminates the utilities rates means they are disproportionate
and an unfair distribution. His distribution saddles two groups with the bulk of this
increase while giving huge breaks to the corporate base and industry users. This
distribution reads like the Bush Tax Policy in making the rich richer at the expense of the
poor and moderate income groups whom incomes here in Idaho are well below the
national average according to the news.
Three, the two hardest hit groups are residential and small business. The residential group
is basically your home owners-now having property tax increases-which have led to a 12
percent decrease in home ownership. The other group is the small businesses which
struggle to survive-this group should see a decrease after all they are the future HP's and
Micron s oftomorrow. Mr. Gale has both these groups at nearly double the rates of
corporations and industry. We need to encourage small business and home ownership,
not discourage it with disproportionate tax and rate increase policies. Our future here in
Idaho depends on these two large groups for consistent tax revenue and the decisions you
make will be important in expanding this base or depleting it. The two high rate groups
are probably responsible for 45-70 percent of all taxes while the Corporate and industry
are probably only at 5-10 percent-I don t have the exact figures, but that is a common
revenue rate. To cause a depletion of the residential and small business groups could be
devastating and long lasting.
I just ask you to consider what the ramifications of these disproportionate increases and
the effects they will have on the future of Idaho now 43rd out of 50 as the best places to
live, while Wyoming is in the top group. I appreciate your time.
Sincerely,
Casey Mitchell
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POWE R CB)
An IDACORP Company
Notice of Application To Increase Rates
Dear Idaho Power Customer:
On Oct 28, Idaho Power filed a request with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC) for a 7.8 percent increase in
the base rates we charge all of our Idaho customers. There are many reasons for this request and this letter is my opportunity to
share some of them with you.
The proposed increase would apply to Idaho customers' base rates, the portion that pays for Idaho Power s actual cost of
conducting business such as maintenance and operating expenses and capital investments. The new rate could become
effective June 1 2006 should the IPUC take the maximum amount of time to process the request.
Many of the issues within this case were closely reviewed by the IPUC as part of the company s last general rate request
filing two years ago. This filing represents adjustments to the company s operating requirements since that time.
There were several issues that delayed our 2003 general rate filing including an energy crisis here in the Northwest Not
filing for such a prolonged period resulted in our company having to seek a double-digit rate increase. In the wake of our last
case, Idaho Power decided that it was in the best interest of its customers to file more frequent but smaller cases, such as the
one we filed last month.
With IPUC approval, the proposed price change would result in an annual revenue increase of $44 million to help offset
the company s yearly operating costs of approximately $606 million to provide electrical service to its customers in Idaho.
The proposed rate changes vary for each customer group, although the same overall increase of?8 percent has been
requested for each customer group. The chart below shows the average of all rate components for our major customer groups.
However, the current and proposed "average base rate" does not include the annual Power Cost Adjustment component, which
can increase or decrease the overall rate depending on the company s energy costs through April 2006.
Customer Current Average Proposed Average
Group Base Rate Base Rate
Residential 74 cents 19 cents
Small Commercial 16 cents 72 cents
Large Commercial 91 cents 22 cents
Industrial 99 cents 23 cents
Irngation 4.42 cents 76cents
lly authorized by the IPUC, the additional amount we are seeking would mean an increase of approxi-
e power bill of an average Idaho Power residential customer who uses 1 200 kilowatt-hours per month.
It is important to understand that Idaho Power s application is a proposal subject to public review and a Public Utilities
Commission decision. Copies of the filing are available on the IPUC website (www.puc.state.id.us), Idaho Power s website
(www.idahopower.com) or at the commission office, 472 W. Washington St. Copies also are available at Idaho Power
corporate headquarters, 1221 W. Idaho St., Boise or at Idaho Power offices in Boise, Nampa, Emmett, Payette, McCall
Mountain Home, Gooding, Hailey, Twin Falls, Heyburn, American Falls, Pocatello, Blackfoot or Salmon.
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Vice President, Regulatory Affairs
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Jean Jewell
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From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Ed Howell
Tuesday, December 13 20059:31 AM
Jean Jewell; Ed Howell; Gene Fadness; Tonya Clark
Comment acknowledgement
WWW Form Submission:
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
9:31:01 AM
Case:
Name: John Weber
Street Address: 9535 W Cory Ln
City: Boise
State: Idaho
ZIP: 83704
Home Telephone: [phone]E-Mail: j s - weber~hotmail, comCompany:
Comment description: Just a quick comment. I believe a measured price increase in
electric rates starting as soon as possible will be a good thing to get our rates closer
to the national average. Measured rate increases will give people the opportunity to
increase their personal conservation in a measured way. Spike increases are harder forpeople to deal with. Due to the depletion of natural gas in the United States, there willbe price spikes in the coming years. Those increases will have to be passed on to the end
users, including electric users because of the amount of electricity that is produced bynatural gas.
Transaction ID: 1213931,
Referred by: http: I Iwww.puc. state. id. usl scripts/polyform. dlll ipuc
User Address: 209.151.53.User Hostname: 209.151.53.