20190321press release.pdf

Case No: PAC-E-19-02
Order No: 34262
Contact: Matt Evans
Office: [phone]
Cell: [phone]
[e-mail]
Telephonic public hearing set for proposed asset
transfer between Rocky Mountain Power and the
city of Idaho Falls
BOISE (March 21, 2019) –The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has scheduled a telephonic public
hearing in a case involving the proposed transfer of assets from Rocky Mountain Power to the city
of Idaho Falls.
The assets include power poles, transformers and other devices used to provide electric service to
Sandy Downs, an outdoor arena owned by the city that receives electric service from Rocky
Mountain Power.
The hearing is set for March 26 at 2 pm and serves as an opportunity for anyone interested in
providing testimony for the official case record.
Call [phone] to testify, and enter passcode 6674 832# when prompted. Those interested in
testifying are asked to call a few minutes before the hearing begins.
For those unable to testify, the Commission is accepting written comments on the proposal through
April 15.
Rocky Mountain Power provides electric service to approximately 77,600 customers in eastern
Idaho.
The city of Idaho Falls owns and operates Idaho Falls Power, a municipal electric utility that
provides electric service to most of the city’s residents. Its service territory is surrounded by Rocky
Mountain Power’s service territory.
There is some overlap in service; Rocky Mountain Power serves some customers within the city’s
boundaries, including Sandy Downs, and the city provides electric service to some customers inside
the company’s service territory.
In order to reduce duplication of service and promote stability in their service territories, the two
entered into a service allocation agreement in 2017.
The Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved the agreement after finding it consistent with
Idaho Code 61-332, the Electric Supplier Stabilization Act (ESSA).

The ESSA is intended to discourage the duplication of facilities, prohibit pirating of consumers,
stabilize service territories and consumers and promote harmony between electric suppliers.
The service allocation agreement between Rocky Mountain Power and the city of Idaho Falls
established the service territory of each utility, and called for the two to collaborate to identify
facilities that are duplicative and to avoid duplicity when constructing new facilities.
The agreement provides for the transfer of service from one utility to the other as long as the
acquiring utility agrees to pay the other “just compensation for lost revenues and the distribution
facilities used to serve that customer.”
“Just compensation for lost revenues” is defined in the agreement as an amount equal to 167
percent of the total of the respective customer’s electric bills from the prior 12-month period.
The acquiring utility is also required to purchase the assets no longer needed or required by the
other utility to serve that customer.
The proposed transaction involving Sandy Downs would be the fifth transaction processed under
the service allocation agreement.
It calls for a sale price of $59,469, including $10,986 for existing assets, $3,700 in separation costs
and approximately $43,000 for lost revenue.
Go here to submit a comment. Or go to the Commission’s web site, www.puc.idaho.gov, click on the
“Case Comment Form” under the “Electric” heading. Please be sure to include the case number,
PAC-E-19-02.
Comments can also be submitted via mail, to P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0074 or by fax, (208)
334-3762.
All documents filed in this case, including Rocky Mountain Power’s application, can be found here,
at the Commission’s web site, www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on “Open Cases” under the “Electric”
heading and scroll down to case number PAC-E-19-02.