Tax reform could drive down gas and electric bills

Your gas and electric bills could be a little less hefty, a result of the recently passed GOP tax reform legislation.

Idaho’s Public Utilities Commission announced it has opened an investigation into whether regulated utility companies — investor- or privately owned gas, electric, and some telephone and water services — should adjust their rates to reflect the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

The federal law, passed in December, reduced the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. It is a significant reduction that will reduce the tax bill for many utilities, said a news release from the Commission.

“Since tax expenses are a factor in determining rates and charges, the Commission wants to protect Idahoans from paying rates calculated on an inflated tax rate,” said the news release.

The first step in the investigation is to require regulated utilities to report the financial benefits gained from the tax rate reduction by March 30. Each report must include proposed tariff schedules to account for the changes in federal tax law.

Once a report is filed, Public Utilities Commission staff will audit the utility and report the results to the commission within 60 days.

If Commission staff disagrees with a utility’s proposed tariffs of rates and charges, and recommends changes, the Commission would issue an order directing the utility to demonstrate why the recommendations should not be heeded.

The Commission’s order applies to all regulated utilities in Idaho except water companies with fewer than 200 customers and the small electric utility Atlanta Power.

The Commission does not regulate utility cooperatives (owned by the customers) or utilities operated by cities. The Commission has no jurisdiction over sewer operations, cable or satellite television, Internet service providers or cellular telephone companies.

The Commission adopted a similar approach decades ago to determine the effects of the federal Tax Reform Act of 1986.