20200415Final_Order_No_34622.pdf

ORDER NO. 34622 1

Office of the Secretary
Service Date
April 15, 2020
BEFORE THE IDAHO PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION

In response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the Director of Idaho Department of Health &
Welfare issued an Order to Self-Isolate for the State of Idaho (Stay-Home Order”) on March 25,
2020. The Stay-Home Order is effective through April 15, 2020, or until extended, rescinded,
superseded, or amended.
Under Idaho Code § 61-405, each public utility must file an annual report with the
Commission by April 15 of each year. Commission Staff has heard from several small public
utilities that, due to the Stay-Home Order, they cannot get necessary information for the annual
reports from their certified public accountants prior to the April 15, 2020 filing deadline. Similarly,
Intermountain Gas Company (“Intermountain”) recently filed a petition requesting the
Commission extend the filing deadline for Intermountain’s annual report to April 30, 2020. Case
No. INT-G-20-02. Intermountain stated that the employees that prepare its annual report are
working from home and have limited access to the records and printing capacities necessary to
complete and file Intermountain’s annual report.
COMMISSION FINDINGS AND DECISION
Under Idaho Code § 61-405, the Commission may extend the time for filing the annual
report for up to sixty days. Because of the unique challenges facing public utilities as they prepare
their annual report, we find it reasonable to extend the April 15, 2020 filing deadline.
The annual report is an important tool in the Commission’s regulatory tool chest. Staff
relies on this resource to evaluate a public utility’s filings with the Commission. The more recent
the annual report, the more useful it is. Therefore, we extend the annual report filing deadline only
as long as we believe necessary. We distinguish between large public utilities, which have more
employees and greater technological resources at their disposal, and small utilities, which often
have fewer regulatory resources.
IN RE EXTENSION OF ANNUAL REPORT
FILING DEADLINE DUE TO COVID-19
PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY
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CASE NOS. GNR-U-20-02
INT-G-20-02

ORDER NO. 34622
ORDER NO. 34622 2

For public utilities with gross operating intrastate revenues greater than $2 million, we
authorize a 30-day extension. Annual reports must be filed by these public utilities by May 15,
2020. For public utilities with $2 million or less in gross operating intrastate revenues, we authorize
a 60-day extension. Annual reports must be filed by these public utilities by June 15, 2020.1
Nevertheless, we encourage all public utilities to file their annual reports as soon as possible.
Our deadline extension today does not waive or impact any public utility’s
responsibility to file its gross intrastate operating report with the Commission. Nor does it waive
assessment fee payments or change the due dates for such payments.
ORDER
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the April 15, 2020 deadline by which a public utility
must file its annual report with the Commission is extended as follows:
1. Public utilities with gross operating intrastate revenues greater than $2 million are
granted a 30-day extension, and must file their annual reports by May 15, 2020.
2. Public utilities with gross operating intrastate revenues of $2 million or less are
granted a 60-day extension, and must file their annual reports by June 15, 2020.
THIS IS A FINAL ORDER. Any person interested in this Order may petition for
reconsideration within twenty-one (21) days of the service date of this Order. Within seven (7)
days after any person has petitioned for reconsideration, any other person may cross-petition for
reconsideration. See Idaho Code § 61-626.
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1 60 days from April 15, 2020 falls on Sunday, June 14, 2020. The filing deadline thus becomes the next business day,
Monday, June 15, 2020. See Rule 17 of the Commission’s Rules of Procedure, IDAPA 31.01.01.017.
ORDER NO. 34622 3

DONE by Order of the Idaho Public Utilities Commission at Boise, Idaho this 15th
day of April 2020.

PAUL KJELLANDER, PRESIDENT

KRISTINE RAPER, COMMISSIONER

ERIC ANDERSON, COMMISSIONER

ATTEST:

Diane M. Hanian
Commission Secretary

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