20101217Comments.pdf

Jean Jewell
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Subject:
sodacoc~sodachamber.com
Friday, December 17,20104:49 AM
Jean Jewell; Beverly Barker; Gene Fadness
PUC Comment Form
A Comment from Soda Springs Chamber of Commerce follows:
Case Number: PAC-E-10-07
Name: Soda Springs Chamber of Commerce
Address:
City: Soda Springs
State: Idaho
Zip: 83276
Daytime Telephone:
Contact E-Mail: sodacoc~sodachamber.com
Name of Utility Company: Rocky Mountain Power
Acknowledge: acknowledge
Please describe your comment briefly:
As a resident of southeast Idaho, you undoubtedly know, the utility providing electricity to
70,000 southeastern Idaho customers, Rocky Mountain Power, has pending before the Public
Utilities Commission a proposal asking for a 13.71% average increase. On top of this $27.7
million jump in rates, the company is also asking for a guaranteed rate of return of 10.6% on
their investments.
Being an organization that represents businesses, we certainly understand the concept of one
trying to get as much for their product or service as the market is willing to pay for. If
the features, advantages and benefits of your offering are better than a competitor's , it's
understandable that you may be able to ask for, and in many cases obtain, a higher price.
Conversely, if your product or service is inferior, there is a chance that you may not be in
business for long unless you're the "only game in town".
Unfortunately, when it comes to investor owned utilities such as Rocky Mountain Power, the
normal dynamics of a free market don't apply. In exchange for providing a reliable and safe
electric supply they are provided an exclusive state sanctioned monopoly in a specific
geography where they don't have to suffer the challenges of competition - i.e. they are the
"only game in town". However, being the sole provider of electricity can lead an
organization to overreach when it comes to what they believe they ought to receive in terms
of compensation. And in this case the double digit increases the utility is asking for has
the potential to seriously impact, if not devastate, the southeastern Idaho economy.
Rocky Mountain Power's rate proposal hits all customers at a time. when the economy is at its
most vulnerable in many generations. And, if approved, the increase could have an especially
devastating impact to our few remaining large employers such as Monsanto and Agrium. The
phosphate mining and processing industry are the two largest contributors to the local
economy. Monsanto's operations alone provide more than 770 direct jobs - approximately 13%
of workers in Caribou County and 8% of workers in Bear Lake County. According to a recent
Idaho Department of Labor estimate, the loss of Monsanto operations would cost the region an
additional 1,478 jobs beyond those directly employed by Monsanto. Our region cannot handle
the economic ruin that would come about with the loss of Monsanto.
Fortunately, this is not yet a "fate accompli". There is opportunity for all ratepayers -
households, farmers, manufacturers, etc. - to make their opinion known. The Public Utilities
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Commission is holding public hearings in Grace on Wednesday, Dec. 15, 1: 30 p. m., Grace
American Legion Hall, 50 N. First West, and in Preston on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 7:00 p.m. at
the Robinson Building, 186 W. Second North.
Show up, stand up, and let your voice be heard! Now is not the time to be idle and hope
someone else will speak up on your behalf. Your family's, and southeastern Idaho's, future
depends on your weighing in.
Sincerely,
Dianne, Director
Soda Springs Chamber of Commerce
PO Box 697
Soda Springs, ID 83276
208-547-4964
sodacoc~sodachamber . com
Shop local!
The form submitted on http://www . puc. idaho. gov Iforms/ipuc1/ipuc. html
IP address is 216.128.239.31
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Jean Jewell
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vmascarenas~co.caribou. ¡d. us
Friday, December 17,20104:35 AM
Jean Jewell; Beverly Barker; Gene Fadness
PUC Comment Form
A Comment from Caribou County Commissioners follows:
Case Number: PAC-E-10-07
Name: Caribou County Commissioners
Address: 159 S Main
City: Soda Springs
State: ID
Zip: 83276
Daytime Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: vmascarenas~co.caribou.id . us Name of Utility Company: Rocky Mounty Power
Acknowledge: acknowledge
Please describe your comment briefly:
Caribou County Commissioners Earl Somsen and Lloyd Rasmussen attende your hearing for Rocky
Mountain Power' s rate increase. We thank you for choosing Grace as one of your meeting
places.
After hearing testimony from various people we agree with most.
1. We don' t believe residents of Idaho should have to pay for the transmission lines to
deliver power from wind farms in Wyoming to the west coast states.
2. We do believe a large rate of increase for power would have a large impact on our
industry and the ripple down effect would cause hardship on our residents and businesses.
3. However prices on repairs and replacements, wages, etc. keep rising so Rocky Mountain
Power should have a small raise.
4 . Additional energy expence for agriculture is a great concern. This would have a
significant negative impact on many of our local producers.
5. We have a great concern of the effect caused by a rate increase for the fixed income and
low income residents of Caribou County.
The form submitted on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc1/ipuc.html
IP address is 216.128.239.31
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Jean Jewell
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Sent:
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Subject:
smith5js~gmail.com
Friday, December 17, 20104:05 AM
Jean Jewell; Beverly Barker; Gene Fadness
PUC Comment Form
A Comment from Gerald and Jo Ann Smith follows:
Case Number:
Name: Gerald and Jo Ann Smith
Address: 596 Eagle Drive
Ci ty: Preston
State: Idaho
Zip: 83263
Daytime Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: smith5js~gmail.com
Name of Utility Company:
Acknowledge: acknowledge
Please describe your comment briefly:
After attending the rate hearing in Preston Idaho on the 15th of December, we felt it
important for us to make comment. We are on a tight fixed income, most of it social security,
which we have paid into all of our working life. Our savings are not giving much if any
interest. The Government has decreed that there is no inflation so even a cost of living
increase has been withheld for several years.
We have cut our electical use and have used means to make our home energy efficient. We feel
that the increase that Rocky Mountain Power proposed would be a hardship in these economic
times for us and for others who are in our fixed income position.
The form submitted on http://www.puc.idaho.gov/forms/ipuc1/ipuc.html
IP address is 207.225.33.152
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Jean Jewell
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Subject:
snedaker~d321.k12.id.us
Friday, December 17,20108:38 AM
Jean Jewell; Beverly Barker; Gene Fadness
PUC Comment Form
A Comment from Varr Snedaker follows:
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Case Number: PAC-E-10-07
Name: Varr Snedaker
Address: 148 S 5th W
Ci ty: Rexburg
State: ID
Zip: 83440
Daytime Telephone: [phone]
Contact E-Mail: snedaker~d321.k12.id.us
Name of Utility Company: Rocky Mountain Power
Acknowledge: acknowledge
Please describe your comment briefly:
I attended the public hearing in Rexburg on 12/14/2010. From the opening comments at the
meeting I understood that the information the PUC can use to make a determination has to do
with prudently incurred expenses and must allow a reasonable rate of return.
The rate of return of over 10% should be questioned in this economy since other investments
have been well below 10% in recent years and the rate of return should be questioned by the
Commission.
The second issue has to do with whether the costs are prudent expenditures. The information
i have received states that the capacity of the Gateway Project is 10 times larger that the
needs of Idaho and that the new transmission lines are intended to be used to transmit
electricity from the Wyoming Wind project across Idaho to Oregon & California where those
states require that a certain amount of alternative energy is used. Because of those two
issues, the huge investment does not appear to be a prudent expenditure benefiting users in
Idaho and therefore should not be built into the rates for Idaho users who are not benefiting
from the new lines. It seems only fair that the users who will be benefiting from the Gateway
Project, those who will be the actual users of the transmission lines, are the ones who
should pay for it - these users appear to be businesses and residents of Oregon and
California. Please consider carefully to what extent those huge costs benefit Idaho users.
Before you make a decision, please make sure you are clear on who the real users are who will
benefit from the transmission lines. Please protect Idaho users and ensure that those
benefiting from the new transmission lines are the users who will pay for the costs of the
project.
Thank you for your consideration.
The form submitted on http://ww. puc. idaho .gov/forms/ipuc1/ipuc. html
IP address is 198.60.195.11- ----------- - - - ----- - - - - -- - - - --- - - --
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