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Put America first, say Avista patrons

by Judd Wilson Staff Writer
| June 15, 2018 1:00 AM

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Idaho residents pack into the Midtown Center Thursday evening to listen and give testimonies about the the proposed $5.3 billion cash sale of Avista to Toronto-based Hydro One. (LOREN BENOIT/Press)

COEUR d’ALENE — There are 5.3 billion reasons why the Avista-Hydro One sale might go through. However, the voices of Kootenai County residents might negate all of them — if the Idaho Public Utilities Commission’s three members heed them.

The proposed $5.3 billion cash sale of Avista to Toronto-based Hydro One has won approval from regulatory bodies in Alaska, Montana, and Washington, D.C. The parties still have to gain approval in Oregon and Washington, where efforts are underway.

Here in Idaho, Idaho Code 61-328 puts final power to approve or disapprove the sale in the hands of the IPUC’s three members: former state Rep. Eric Anderson from Priest Lake, former state Rep. Paul Kjellander from Boise, and longtime state commission lawyer Kristine Raper. On Thursday night, Anderson and Kjellander heard a standing-room-only audience speak with one voice to keep American utilities in American hands.

“I see Avista as American infrastructure. It really, really concerns me that a foreign government may have a 40 percent share in American infrastructure,” said Summer Bushnell from Post Falls.

Hydro One has a history of jacking up rates, she added.

“As an ordinary citizen, I don’t think it’s a good idea at all,” Bushnell said.

Coeur d’Alene resident Jim Bossingham quietly expressed his exasperation at the proposed transaction. “I can’t figure out why, when our ancestors built so many good things, foundation-wise in this country, that we have to tear them apart and sell them to somebody that we will have no control over.”

Hydro One serves 1.3 million customers in the far-off Canadian province of Ontario, which stretches from north of New York City to north of Minneapolis. According to the Ontario Ministry of Energy, 47.4 percent of Hydro One is owned by the province of Ontario. The company is headed by a native Kansan, Mayo Schmidt, who holds dual U.S.-Canadian citizenship.

Hayden resident Larry Spencer pointed out recent statements by incoming Ontario Premier Doug Ford which indicated that he intends to fire Schmidt. The populist Ford has dubbed Schmidt “The Six-Million Dollar Man” on account of his $6.2 million compensation. Hydro One’s political instability makes this transaction different from previous sales of Idaho utilities, Spencer said.

Lifelong Avista customer Lorna Campbell lives in the county outside Coeur d’Alene. She said her parents were customers when the utility was still known as Washington Water Power. Campbell expressed deep concerns about a foreign entity owning the local public utility through its representatives on the Avista board of directors. When a board of directors decides what they’re going to do, it’s usually by majority rule, she said. According to the settlement Avista and Hydro One reached April 13, Hydro One will control the composition of a majority of Avista’s board of directors. The settlement calls for two Hydro One executives and three Hydro One appointees who reside in the Pacific Northwest to serve on the Avista board of directors. Three current Avista board members, plus Avista’s CEO, will make up the remaining four board members.

“We’re looking at a foreign country and a foreign corporation being able to control what our company here does,” Campbell said.

Former Montana state legislator and current Coeur d’Alene resident Michael More counseled the commissioners to protect Idaho’s sovereignty and water rights.

“This should be an adamant no-vote against this acquisition for the simple, fundamental reality that local assets should be controlled at the local level,” he said.

State Rep. Ron Mendive likewise told the commissioners to be cautious about protecting Idaho’s critical infrastructure. He cited the Idaho Legislature’s intent in drawing up Idaho Code 61-327. “Legislators wanted to keep control of our power grid in the control of the state of Idaho,” he said. Mendive also said it’s inevitable that there will be changes when Hydro One takes over Avista. IPUC commissioners should look at the company’s track record in Ontario and ask whether we want them to have a say in power production in Idaho, Mendive said.

The settlement proposes to sweeten the deal for Idahoans by throwing in a rate credit. The sum of $15,811,050 would be credited to Avista customers in Idaho over a 5-year period, beginning at the time the merger closes. The amount is equal to 5 percent of Avista’s Idaho base revenue as of Feb. 1, explained the settlement.

Tim Kastning of Rathdrum said the rate credits didn’t amount to much, and ripped into the proposed sale. “Avista is a great company. I think turning this company over to a foreign entity with the reputation and rates Hydro One has would be a terrible mistake.”

The settlement also calls for Avista to maintain separate books from its affiliates, and forbids transaction costs to be passed along to customers. Idaho Code 61-328 similarly forbids rate increases “by reason of such transaction.” However, the state code is silent as to what happens after the parties complete the transaction.

Former Air Force nurse Terry O’Rourke from Coeur d’Alene stood for more than two hours and was the last person to testify. She briefly asked the commissioners to “Do the right thing for the people. For the country. No foreigners. That’s all.”

Given the way regulators have supported the deal elsewhere, Mendive told the commissioners they might be America’s last line of defense. “If anybody could stop this, it’d probably have to be the PUC.”

The commissioners are accepting public comments until Wednesday, June 27, and are expected to make a decision on the proposal by Aug. 14. To weigh in via mail or fax, contact P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0074, or 208-334-3762. To comment online go to puc.idaho.gov, click on “Case Comment Form” under the “Electric” or “Natural Gas” heading, and enter your comment. Be sure to include the case number, AVU-E-17-09 or AVU-G-17-05.