Idaho Power files annual fixed cost adjustment

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Idaho Power has filed the first of two annual cost adjustments with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission (IPUC).

This year’s Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA) requests an increase of $10.6 million, or 1.44%, for residential and small general service customers in Idaho.

If the FCA proposal is approved as filed, a typical residential customer using 950 kilowatt-hours per month would see about a $1.69 increase to their monthly bill beginning June 1. However, the final impact to customer bills won’t be known until a second annual adjustment, the Power Cost Adjustment (PCA), is filed in April.

The FCA adjusts prices up or down based on changes in energy use per customer during the prior year. It is a true-up mechanism that separates energy sales from revenue to remove financial disincentives for Idaho Power to invest in demand-side management, which can contribute to use per customer declining.

In 2023, Idaho Power’s energy efficiency programs saved 139,683 megawatt hours — enough energy to power about 12,200 average-sized homes for a year. Idaho Power values demand-side management, energy efficiency and education programs, and the FCA allows the company to provide these programs to residential and small general service customers without negative financial impacts.

The FCA allows Idaho Power to recover an IPUC-authorized level of fixed costs — costs associated with things like generation plants, power lines, and substations — per customer. If the company collects less than the authorized fixed-cost amount, it can collect the difference through a surcharge. If the company collects more than the authorized amount, it refunds the difference to customers through a credit.