There was strong written opposition to the plan before the IPUC, including a document filed by attorney Jon Steele. Much of the opposition was based upon the contemplated rate Idaho Power proposed to pay for the electricity generated.

Dynamis has already received $2 million from Ada County, but based on lack of financing and other questions surrounding the deal, it looks like it faces a huge battle before it becomes a reality.

The staff report cites older methodology, higher interest rates, prices higher than needed, and even the NEED for the generating capacity at the current time.

Here is a link to the STAFF REPORT.

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We talked to a Williams County, ND Deputy who not only confirmed the accuracy of the data, but told us, “We have a fair number of people from your area working here as well.”

Politicos take note: Your wishes may come true…be careful about what you wish for!
A meeting was held of the ND Sheriff’s & Deputies Association in Bismarck, as part of this meeting we had an opportunity to sit down with Law Enforcement from western ND to discuss what they are going through with oil impact. Here is a summary of 34 points made:
1. Currently there are a total of 84 companies involved in the oil industry in western ND.
2. It takes between 2000 and 2200 semi loads of water per well. Currently there are 258 wells in progress with so many scheduled it is hard to determine the exact amount.
3. Traffic accidents, especially fatal traffic accidents are of very high concern. At one location on Highway 85 south of Williston, a traffic count was conducted in October of 2011. In one 24 hour period of time there where 29,000 vehicle through the intersection looked at with 60% of the traffic being semi’s.
4. Traffic is typically backed up for ½ to ¾ of a mile. One of the guys stated that one day last week he sat at an intersection on Highway 85 for about 30 minutes to get a big enough opening to cross over.
5. They have closed the weigh scale house because it was causing such a traffic jam that it was closing the roadway.
6. Rent in Williston currently is: $ 2000 for a one bedroom to $ 3400 for a three bedroom.
7. They have no more hook ups for campers any where in the area.
8. Williams County allows three campers per farmstead, the farmers almost all have three campers on their property and are charging $ 800 per camper per month for rent.
9. Wal Mart in Williston no longer stocks shelves, they bring out pallets of merchandise at night, and set it in the isles, people then take off the pallets what they want.
10. On 1-1-12, the Williston Wal Mart had 148 campers overnight in their parking lot.
11. Willams County wrecked a pickup and ended up bringing it to Bismarck for repairs because there no available body shops to do the work. Williams County has purchased a trailer and has started to bring vehicles to the Bismarck area for repairs. Willaims County took a pickup in for ball joints and front brakes, the shop charged them $ 2800 for the repairs.
12. Williston and Williams County now produces more taxable sales than any other area in ND.
13. The Williams County jail has increased booking by 150%. With a 100% increase in inmate population. Bonds of $ 5k to $ 10 K are typically paid with cash out of pocket. The Williams County Sheriff stated that a couple of week ago he received a $ 63,000 bond in cash carried into the jail in a plastic Wal Mart bag.
14. Williams County Sheriff’s Department has more than doubled in staff over the last two years, they are now buying trailer houses that come up for sale to rent to newly hired deputies.
15. Williams County new starting salary with the academy is $ 46,000 plus 100% of all benefits paid.
16. They are in a continuous hiring cycle, they have no set budget at this time, the Sheriff has been told to manage his office to the best of his abilities and keep the Commission updated, but do not worry about the budget.
17. The Williston McDonalds just announced that they will pay $ 15 an hour, a $ 500 immediate sign on bonus and a single medical plan paid for.
18. The restaurants are full and with limited staff to work in them they usually just have the drive through open. The restaurants that have inside seating are now an hour wait at all times.
19. Law Enforcement in the Williams County area cannot provide training to staff due to time constraints and no location to hold training.
20. The local Motel 6 in Williston now rents rooms fro $ 129.95 per night.
21. Law Enforcement no longer does any proactive work (school programs, community services, house checks) they do very little traffic related issues as well, they just to from call to call. Bars fights are one of the biggest issues.
22. Other law enforcement issues include the strip clubs. The local clubs have now started what is called “babe buses”. These buses go out to areas and pick up people and bus them back and forth to the strip clubs, the buses have poles on them as well as live entertainment.
23. Drug problems are immense, and they are seeing narcotics that they have never seen in the area before, like black tar heroin.
24. The civil process section of the Sheriff’s Department use to average 1800 paper a year, they are now doing 4500 processes a year.
25. Law Enforcement said that they make as many Driving under the influence arrest at 10 Am as they do at midnight.
26. Illegal aliens have become a huge problem, especially getting the proper authorities do remove them from the Country.
27. The current thought from the oil companies is that the area will continue to grow as it has over the past two years for the next five years and stay for ten years. At the end of the ten years they feel the communities will drop in population somewhat.
28. The current thought is that the oil companies will be drilling wells on every 1280 acres of leased land, this way they have tied up the land and do not have to release the property.
29. The Williston General Motors dealership has now become the number 1 seller of Corvettes in the upper Midwest.
30. The bigger oil companies are doing very well in hiring good people. They run checks and make sure the people they hire are drug free; it is the smaller companies that are having trouble-hiring people that will look the other way on hiring issues.
31. They said they do not know anybody anymore. The Sheriff of Williams County he use to be able to go to Wal Mart and not be walk very far without knowing somebody, now he does not know any of the people in there.
32. Many of the local citizens are taking retirement and moving out of the area.
33. They have an extreme amount of alcohol abuse going on. They have more calls than ever of drunk people trying to get into houses, to find out they are at the wrong place.
34. Minot population has grown by a projected 9000 people since the completion of the census. Minot is expecting to reach a population of 75,000 in the nest five years. Trinity Hospital in Minot has just hired 115 nurses from the Philippines to work at the hospital, as they cannot get enough local nurses to apply.

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1. Jan 20, 2012: Idaho Power Adopts Growthophobe Philosophy — 2 comments

Idaho Power is happy to expand its transmission lines to take care of growth, but wants those who benefit and create the demand to pay for it, according to a new filing before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

Under the proposal, Idaho Power seeks to charge what amounts to “impact fees” to cut down on rate hikes borne by all the rate payers. That goes along well with the GROWTHOPHOBE idea that growth for the sake of growth is not a worthwhile endeavor. However, if someone wants to come here and pay their way–not with public money–we will welcome them.

Here is the text of an IPUC press release on the topic.

Idaho Power wants to shift more line extension costs to new customers

A full text of the commission’s order, along with other documents related to this case, is available on the commission’s Web site. Click on “File Room” and then on “Electric Cases” and scroll down to the above case number.

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Steele, in a press release was critical of the proposed rate schedule between Idaho Power and Dynamis Energy, the outfit that already has $2 million from Ada taxpayers for the project.

PRESS RELEASE
Backdoor Politics: The Ada County Commissioners and Dynamis Energy, LLC

Why would Idaho Power agree to pay Dynamis Energy far more than any other alternative energy provider?

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission has been asked to approve a “deal” between Dynamis Energy, LLC and Idaho Power Company that will require Idaho Power to pay Dynamis more than twice the going rate for electricity. The Dynamis electricity is planned to be generated at a proposed trash-to-energy Project located at the Ada County landfill.

While the public spotlight is now focused upon Idaho Power and the Idaho Public Utilities Commissioners, this boondoggle originated with the Ada County Commissioners.

Although Idaho Power has made the application to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission for approval of the Dynamis “deal,” a close reading of the Idaho Power papers discloses a less than enthusiastic endorsement. The garbage to energy concept sounds green and clean and may even be technically feasible, but it will be expensive for Idahoans, who have enjoyed the cheapest electric rates in the United States.

In June of 2010 the Ada County Commissioners agreed to pay Dynamis almost 2 million dollars for the design of a trash-to-energy Project to be built at the Ada County landfill. The primary benefit to Ada County is the possibility of extending the useful life of the landfill because the Project will incinerate garbage rather than bury it.

However, unlike many communities, Ada County has a landfill that will provide solid waste disposal for roughly 70 to 100 years – the Hidden Hollow Landfill off of Hill Road. In 2007 Ada County opened a new landfill section, the North Ravine Cell, located on 2700 acres of County-owned property. The North Ravine Cell is the replacement landfill for the nearly full Hidden Hollow Landfill.

In 2005, Ada County contracted with Fortistar Energy to burn the natural byproduct at the Hidden Hollow Landfill – gas – which is used as fuel to generate electricity. Fortistar can generate roughly 3.2 mega-watts of electricity – enough to power about 2,400 homes. In 2010 Fortistar paid Ada County $260,786 for gas produced by rotting garbage which was converted to electricity and sold to Idaho Power. Yet, the rate paid to Fortistar by Idaho Power is substantially lower than the rate to be paid Dynamis.

Dynamis, according to its website, is composed of “…a group of highly committed professionals that are dedicated to clean renewable energy through waste recovery systems.” If their website is to be believed, Dynamis is “…your best source for value-driven, environmentally sound, global turnkey waste to energy services.” Dynamis owns “…state-of-the-art proprietary waste-to-energy technology.” Their “…patented process reduces reliance on fossil fuels, decreases harmful emissions and provides numerous immeasurable long-term benefits, clearing a new path toward a sustainable and cleaner world.” Who can argue with that?

In June of 2010 Ada County Commissioners Fred Tillman, Sharon M. Ullman, and Rick Yzaguirre took it upon themselves to sign a contract with Dynamis which says that Dynamis will design “… a 250 ton per day waste to energy facility…” referred to as the Project. The Dynamis website states that … “[o]ne of our 250 ton per day plants produces on average 15 megawatts, which means in theory we can provide power for 14,000 homes.”

Between July 15 and December 17, 2011, Ada County paid Dynamis almost 2 million dollars. These payments were for the design of the Project. None of these payments purchased any material or labor or permits that will be required to build the Project.

The Dynamis contract does not guarantee that the waste to energy Project will work or even that the waste to energy Project will probably work. Rather, the contract states that the almost 2 million dollar Project design is based upon “experimental technologies” and that after review of the Project design Ada County “…may not want to proceed.”

On November 1, 2011 the Ada County Commissioners entered into a second agreement with Dynamis. This time, however, Commissioner Vern Bisterfeldt refused to go along, but majority ruled. This agreement allows Dynamis to finance the Project, build it, own it, and operate a 54,400 square foot plant costing $60,000,000 on County land for $1 a year. The County will deliver 408 tons of waste daily to Dynamis at no charge. Dynamis will convert the trash to electricity which it plans to sell to Idaho Power, which brings us back to the Idaho Power application before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

Energy law requires Idaho Power to contract with Dynamis, but not at an inflated price which will ultimately be paid by Idaho Power customers. This “deal” favors Dynamis over Idaho Power customers. While science and technology make the Dynamis project possible, science and technology have not made the Dynamis project economically feasible.

The Ada County Commissioners’ rush to contract with Dynamis left little time for any analysis. The driving forces behind the rush to contract were government payments, tax incentives about to expire, and cash.

Approval of this “deal” will open the flood gates. The Dynamis “deal” is based upon a franchise business model designed to be repeated over and over again with local governments who are lured into approval by the “clean and green” mantra and the possibility of economic growth.

Any opposition to the Idaho Power application before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission runs the risk of being labeled as anti-clean, anti-green, and anti-environment. But these are not the issues to be decided. The real issue is whether we saddle the next generation of Idahoans with obligations that are not economically feasible. The simple question is: Why would Idaho Power agree to pay Dynamis far more than any other alternative energy provider?

The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is taking comment on the Dynamis “deal” through February 2, 2012. Comments are accepted via e-mail by accessing the Commission’s homepage at www.puc.idaho.gov and clicking on “Comments & Questions About a Case.” Fill in the case number (IPC-E-11-25) and enter your comments. Comments can also be mailed to P.O. Box 83720, Boise, ID 83720-0074 or faxed to (208) 334-3762. Be sure to join the list of “Interested Parties.”

The public’s only opportunity to express views on the Dynamis “deal” is to submit comments before February 2. As of today, there will be no public hearing for you to attend. Our Public Utility Commissioners will read and respect your comments, but only if you beat the February 2 deadline.

The full text of the Commission’s order in this application, along with other documents related to this case, are available on the Commission’s Web site at www.puc.idaho.gov. Click on “File Room” and then on “Electric Cases” and scroll down to the above case number.

The Ada County Commissioners can be reached at (208) 287-7000.

Jon M. Steele
Runft & Steele Law Offices, PLLC
1020 W. Main St. Ste 400
Boise, Idaho 83702
(208) 333-9495

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In action before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, Hoku has sought to amend a contract with Idaho Power and prevent the electricity provider from cutting the power. To date Hoku has run up a bill of nearly $4 million.

They wanted to pay the bill from a deposit and later replenish the deposit. Idaho Power countered saying they wanted to take the deposit and then give Hoku a “firm date” to shut off the power.

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First it was the Hoku solar panel plant in Pocatello falling on hard times with plummeting stock prices and Idaho Power ready to pull the plug on its electricity. Now the planned AREVA nuke waste processing facility near Idaho Falls is on “hold” and recent industry reports don’t paint a glowing picture for that industry.

The French-owned AREVA continues its design phase because they get money from the citizens of the USA, but this nuke industryREPORT doesn’t bode well for the future of the firm.

The GUARDIAN has read reports from the HOKU home state of Hawaii and their business future doesn’t look very bright either. Both of these firms depend upon public money to survive, but politicos are getting the message during this election year to end subsidies for energy schemes ranging from corn fed ethanol to windmill farms.

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Idaho Power Co. had threatened to shut off electricity after the Honolulu-based polysilicon maker missed a $1.9 million November payment because of “cash problems.” PUC Commishes set a schedule to hear out the dispute, with arguments set for meetings next Tuesday or Wednesday. As long as the case is unresolved, regulators say Idaho Power can’t shut off electricity to Hoku.

Hoku claims that losing power in the middle of a freezing winter could jeopardize just-completed facilities its new $360 million Pocatello plant. On the flip side, Idaho Power says allowing Hoku to continue to receive electricity without paying its bills puts the utility at risk of losing millions in the deal.

The company is obviously in trouble following a dramatic dip in its stock price and considerable negative comments in the financial media. Idaho power has a legitimate concern about getting stuck and the PUC commishes are in the position of being the “power broker” with–no doubt–plenty of political pressure from locals in Pocatello.

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Micron holds its “jobs” club over the heads of policy makers and gets all sorts of tax breaks–meanwhile the government pays all the workers who were laid off when jobs went offshore.

The Chamber of Commerce’s “Boise Valley Economic Partnership” is drumming up support for a $5-10 million fund to pay businesses to locate in the area. This, after their previous $5 million scheme to attract “high paying jobs” fell flat. Businesses don’t come here to pay higher wages.

Guv Butch is proposing a fund for local entrepreneur start ups. That’s better than helping the Chinese Communists and out of staters, but still not a good place to spend public money. If the idea and product are good, investors will buy in and profit.

In Twin Falls politicos are tripping over themselves as they pony up public promises of about $29,000,000 for a Chobani yogurt plant–a culture unto itself. That area has a history of attracting–and closing businesses.

Pocatello is about to fall victim to an ill-fated solar panel plant backed by the communist Chinese, but not backed with enough cash to pay their electric bill to Idaho Power. Hoku is teetering on the brink of financial failure despite massive infusions of urban renewal funds diverted from schools, the city and county. They also are beneficiaries of state and federal funds.

A hearing before the Idaho Public Utilities Commission over the proposed shut off of electric service to Hoku will be an interesting indicator regarding whether regulators go with the politicos and the POTENTIAL of “jobs” or rule to allow Idaho Power to cut its losses from a deadbeat customer.

Despite repeated promises, hoopla, and assorted pandering Boise can’t even get a Whole Foods chain store going. No doubt the folks at the Co-Op won’t shed tears over that news. If they have the money and Boise looks like a place to do business, Whole Foods would beat down the door of city hall with fists full of cash.

Citing Boise’s “proximity to west coast ports,” there was a big media push a month ago for a Zonda electric bus factory in Boise. The company had even moved its headquarters here. Don’t stand in line for tickets to ride that coach.

The overall message from we GROWTHOPHOBES is similar to that of former Gov. Cecil Andrus who opposed deal sweeteners: “If you have the money to pay your taxes and a fair wage, we welcome you with open arms. If you are shopping for rubes willing to PAY you to come here, please take your business elsewhere.”

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The company’s stock has plummeted to less than 1/4 its value earlier this year and is in danger of being delisted on the stock exchange where the current price is less than 60 cents a share.

The would-be polysilicon maker said losing power would delay the Pocatello plant’s commissioning and expose infrastructure to freezing as winter sets in. Southeastern Idaho’s hopes that Hoku’s $390 million plant will eventually add hundreds of green-energy jobs to the local economy have been shaken by uncertainty over whether the project will survive.

“If service is terminated, these high value systems may freeze, causing irreparable and material damage to Hoku’s plant assets,” the company’s lawyers told utility regulators in their complaint. “Any damage would need to be repaired, at additional cost, prior to continuing with the commissioning and operation of the plant.”

This failure to pay an existing Idaho utility a contractually agreed amount does little to help the local economy and could be a harbinger of the future for energy schemes dependent on government subsidies. We GROWTHOPHOBES have long welcomed corporations and individuals to our state as long as they can afford to pay the same taxes the rest of us pay and offer decent wages for the jobs they may create. If not, please visit one of the states competing against us.

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–We met people from Utah State who not only didn’t visit the Famous Potato Bowl, but didn’t think much of it.
–We met lots of BSU supporters, watched the “Body Shop Bowl,” in Vegas and again not much good was voiced. It appears the plethora of college bowls is self destructing. Even the Hawaii Bowl was played to a nearly empty house.
–There is a lot of action in the field of waste-to-energy projects in Ada, Kootenai, Clark, Freemont, and Bonneville counties and from our standpoint it looks like various government credits are the driving force rather than electricity generation.
–The hang glider folks will probably get “grandfathered into using Hammer Flat if they play nice with Idaho Fish and Game. The best flight path right now is to give Director Virgil Moore a way to ALLOW recreational use of the land rather than bombing him into submission.

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