Feb 27 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Rocky Barker The Idaho Statesman, Boise



Karen Thompson of Weiser knew she used a little extra electricity in December because of the Christmas lights.

But when she and her husband got their Idaho Power bill in January they were shocked. It was $429.

The increase was "the most it has ever gone up in our lives," Thompson said.

Thompson was not alone. Idaho Power rates for the average customer rose more than 13 percent over December 2008 thanks to a series of rate hikes in 2009. At the same time, low stream flows reduced Idaho Power's hydroelectric power production -- prompting a cost adjustment that represented 67 percent of the increase alone.

 Topping it off, a cold snap in December shot the average monthly use up from 1,050 kilowatt hours to 1,351 kwh. And for people like Thompson who heat with electricity, the hit was even harder because of a new tiered rate structure that charges the biggest users more for power.

"I find it alarming that you have allowed Idaho Power to raise their rates so high in the existing economy considering the high cost of living and jobless people and the prospect of a very slow economical recovery," Thompson said in a complaint filed with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, which regulates utility rates.

The PUC has received dozens of complaints from Idaho Power customers -- especially from people who used more than 2,000 kilowatt hours per month and were forced to pay the highest rate in a system designed to encourage people to use less power. The commission has asked its staff to put together a report on the tiered rate system to see if it needs to be modified, said PUC spokesman Gene Fadness.

"I get what they're trying to do and I think it's a good idea," said Bethany Haase, who saw her bill rise to $314. "It would have been nice if beforehand they had put something in their bill telling about it and estimating what their bill would be."

Idaho Power did send letters to people who used 3,500 kwh last January. And the utility included an announcement about the tiered rates in all customers' bills, said Stephanie McCurdy, an Idaho Power spokeswoman.

When her high bill came, Haase was already in the middle of installing a high-efficiency heating system in her home -- spending $6,100 so she could take advantage of a $1,500 federal tax credit.

"I can't say we'll be in the clear yet," she said. "We'll be watching."

Idaho Power has been encouraging its customers to become more energy-efficient because its costs for producing electricity are dramatically increasing. It has maxed out its hydroelectric power potential, and because of international concerns about greenhouse gases, the company can't expand its coal power plants in Nevada and Wyoming. Its Oregon plant is actually closing, leaving natural gas and alternative sources like wind the other options.

But the cheapest option is promoting efficiency, which is why the PUC and the utility put the tiered rates into effect. People with electric homes use the most power in the winter and the summer to heat and cool their homes.

Some simply can't get their use down below the 2,000 kwh level, at which point the highest rate kicks in.

Jeff Majors, a Boise chiropractor and businessman, said he has reduced his use by 15 percent over the past three years. But he has a big house and three daughters who depend on everything from hot baths to hair dryers. He's been paying $450 a month this winter, and in the summer his bill ballooned to more than $700.

"The system is unfair to customers like myself," Majors said.

Idaho Power and the PUC encourage people who are unhappy with their bills to contact them. For people who can't afford their bills, there are programs to help them, said Teresa Drake, Idaho Power's manager for customer relations and energy efficiency.

The utility also can help steer people to programs to help make their homes more energy-efficient -- like a weatherization program currently available under the federal stimulus package.

The PUC staff is compiling the energy load characteristics for each of the homes of people who call, Fadness said.

"For customers with especially large loads, we plan on working with the company to go into each of those homes and show them changes they can make to reduce their consumption," Fadness said.

Idaho Power already offers a variety of programs to help people reduce their bills. The air conditioner Cool Credit Program pays customers to allow Idaho Power to turn off their air conditioners briefly at peak periods.

And both PUC and Idaho Power officials expect the power cost adjustment to drop dramatically this spring -- reducing all bills because river flows last year helped the company make power more cheaply.

Thompson has added insulation to her home and is especially careful now about her energy use, she said. Her last bill dropped to $341.

"Well, I guess that it will teach us to conserve energy or die trying," she said.

Rocky Barker: 377-6484

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