20170110Comments.pdf

RE CEIVED
2017 JAN IO J\H JO= 27
Idaho Public Utilities Commission
P. 0. Box 83720
Boise, Idaho 83720-0074
Sirs;
1u;. LC
i' ,.. . MIS SION
3932 Leland Way
Boise, Idaho 83 709
January 8, 2017
It seems that Idaho Power knows no bounds to its greed since they formed the
phony "holding company" We all know that IDACORP and Idaho Power are one and the
same company. There are no other companies in the holding company.
Now they want to speed up the recovery of their investment in the Valmy power
plant and close it. They have destroyed the area where the plant is located but instead if
upgrading the plant with new equipment as a homeowner would do. Instead they want to
abandon the site to rust away and go destroy some other area.
It is all in a mad and not too well thought out idea that wind and solar will supply
a RELlABLE SOURCE of energy to an increasing population. Tell me, how much solar
and wind power has the Northwest had this last month to month and a half)?? Not a hell
of a lot ~ and certainly not enough to power the heaters needed to keep the homes warm
or to heat the extremely cold water used for cleaning and bathing. I have a solar watch. It
has not been able to get enough energy from the sun to run. lf something that small can't
operate then how do you expect to produce enough to power all the things we use today
that is powered by electricity? And a few years ago we had a small pond. We got a solar
powered pump to run a small fountain doing the summer. That solar panel failed within 3
years. Nothing is said about the life of solar panels and how much they are going to cost
to be replaced; most likely within a 10 year period.
I do NOT agree that ratepayers should be paying Idaho Power shareholders big
dividends to destroy a perfectly good operating plant located on a fairly remote site. Yes,
we saw the site some years ago. It seemed to be fairly clean for the times. Since then coal
has been treated to be cleaner. So the only reason they want to shut it down is for a fast
profit now with no care for the future costs and failures of wind and solar power.
Idaho Power also wants charity from their ratepayers They want us to PAY
THEM $562.00 so they can play with some solar array. They do not say when~. t~e solar
panels are, if they are now in existence and how in the hell is the power lines !fO~rlgai'
know that "gee, that is solar power so I go here". The "subscriber" gets a couple bucks a
month for 25 years! We know that most people do not stay in one home or many times
even, the same city or state for 25 years. That my friends is charity to a company trying
very hard to convince people that they are helping the environment when in fact there is
little effect on it.
We all know that electrons created by whatever source does not separate out
going down the power lines, They do not say "oh, I am from solar so I go to this house,
or l came from wind so 1 go to this house." And so on. We are charged MORE for so
called clean energy, which, of course, is free from the sun and wind. Yes, it must be
extracted but so does gas and oil need to be extracted by drilling.
So NO, ldaho Power needs to learn to tighten their belts and stop gouging us
customers Most ofus see no wage increase and many saw a wage DECREAE The
elderly and disabled saw next to nothing to help us pay for the ever increasing cost for
utilities even though we use less when we can. (The weather this year has thrown a ringer
into that effort!) Our Social Security did not increase to speak of lt was 00 3°-o a
whopping $3 00 a month more (And if you happen to get food stamps your allowance
was cut by that much Whoopee, we live high on the hog in this state )But Idaho Power
wants a 3.00°0 increase
Without a doubt Suez will want another 10 00° o increase, telephone will go up for
something l use very I ittle yet pay $13 00 for long distance that 1 seldom use I never
make long distance calls within the state yet l must pay the $2 00 charge When I asked
to have it removed they said if I did it removed ALL long distance yet it set up as a
separate charge on the bill. What will happen with natural gas and trash I do not know.
Trash has held steady so I suppose they will want more too to pick up a grocery sack of
trash weekly There again I asked to have monthly trash pickup since I have so little. I
was refused with the excuse that if a person opted out the poor trash company wouldn't
make enough money' In other words we are to pay for no service just so the trash
company can charge us over and over and over for their trash cans and NOT pick up
anything at all. Many a time people have not set trash out so the truck just drives by
providing NO SERVICE yet insisting on being paid. In my younger days we paid ONLY
for service received not for pretend service.
That is my thoughts on this constant whining for rate increases ever 6 months by
utilities with no change in service except to decrease service.
Because of this weather and no service from the highway district who takes the
tax dollars from county residents and uses them for the city only and nothing for us here
in the county, I can not get out to get black ink for my printer so must use another color.
Sincerely, i I ,; _,.----;I~ IU~~~
Mrs. Walt Hickstein