20020715-min.doc

MINUTES OF DECISION MEETING
JULY 15, 2002 – 1:30 P.M

In attendance were Commissioners Paul Kjellander, Dennis Hansen, and Marsha Smith.

Commissioner Kjellander called the meeting to order. The first order of business was approval of items 1-3 on the CONSENT AGENDA. There were no comments or questions. Commissioner Kjellander moved for approval of the Consent Agenda items 1-3. A vote was taken and the motion carried.

The next order of business was MATTERS IN PROGRESS:

John Hammond’s July 11, 2002 Decision Memorandum re: Formal Complaint of Ralph Stuart. Case No. IPC-E-02-5.

Mr. Hammond reviewed his Decision Memo. Commissioner Hansen stated he thought the Staff’s recommendations are fair in resolving this case. He made a motion to approve Staff’s recommendation to accept Idaho Power’s proposal for rebilling Mr. Stuart for electrical services, allowing the proper period of time for him to pay the charges.

Commissioner Kjellander asked if anyone had asked Mr. Stuart if he had deployed any extraordinary conservation methods during that time frame. Mr. Hammond replied that an Idaho Power customer service representative had discussed that issue with Mr. Stuart. He said it is noted in one of the e-mails that there was a change in family living arrangements during January and February, so the consumption may have been lower than the previous year and may have been lower than the estimated use based on the 2001 consumption. He said Mr. Stuart has not provided any information to substantiate the claim, however, and the Company’s proposal takes into the account the possibility of reduced consumption by lowering the overall consumption numbers by 18% compared to the previous year, giving Mr. Stuart the benefit of the possible change in consumption.

Commissioner Smith said she was looking at the summary of Mr. Stuart’s kilowatt hour usage for the last 18 months, and it seemed to her that estimating a February 2002 usage of 6,000 kWh is reasonable when the 2001 usage was 7193 kWh, but for January, they estimated 6,500 kWh, and the previous year was 5405 kWh, so she was confused. Mr. Hammond replied that when Staff looked at that, it did seem high in comparison to the previous year; however, the average consumption for January and February of 2001 was 6299 kWh. He said if the numbers are averaged for 2002, it comes to 6250, so the average is close. Commissioner Smith clarified that Staff’s recommendation is based on the overall average of rebilled kilowatt hours, not the specific month it was rebilled in. Mr. Hammond replied that was the case.

A vote was taken on the motion and it carried unanimously.

Lisa Nordstrom’s July 11, 2002 Decision Memorandum re: Idaho Power’s Motion for Approval of Settlement and Settlement Stipulation on Risk Management and Hedging Issues. Status Report on Affiliate Transfer Pricing Issues. Case No. IPC-E-01-16.

Ms. Nordstrom reviewed her Decision Memo. Commissioner Hansen stated he wanted more time to review the issues in greater detail. He said these issues were extremely important to the Commission at the time they were separated from a prior case. He requested more detail as to what has changed, what the benefits of the changes are, and how they relate to risk management. He asked if the Commission could hold this item another week without causing any problems.

Commissioner Smith asked if there was any discussion about or sentiment on the part of the settling parties as to whether comments should be sought of if notice should be given. Ms. Nordstrom replied that it was the opinion of the parties that pretty much everyone who was interested in the case was participating in the workshops and a wide variety of groups were represented. She said anyone who showed interest in attending were welcome and were contacted. She said there were at least six workshops and the parties didn’t anticipate it would need to go out for comment, although she didn’t think anyone would object if the Commission desires additional comments.

Commissioner Smith asked if there was any problem with the timing issue as to the IdaCorp board meeting and Commission approval. Ms. Nordstrom said she was not aware of any prejudice that would occur to any party if the Commission decided to hold this matter for another week.

Commissioner Hansen moved to hold the matter for one week until the Decision Meeting on July 22nd. A vote was taken and the motion carried unanimously.

Commissioner Kjellander stated that the only remaining items on the agenda were under FULLY SUBMITTED MATTERS and those would be deliberated privately. He then adjourned the meeting.

DATED this _______ day of July, 2002.

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COMMISSION SECRETARY

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