Middleton Idaho Homeowners file complaint against Idaho Power in the Idaho Public Utilities Commission

Mark Reinhardt- Boise Idaho A complaint filed with the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, outlines how Idaho Power, allegedly refused to apply the grandfather clause to Solar Generation customers Sara and Matthew Hartzheim of Middleton Idaho. In the complaint, they point out their home had burned down due to an electrical fire, “Unfortunately, on 5/17/22 our family experienced an electrical fire which destroyed our home and with it our solar array.” The complaint further detailed how Idaho Power informed them that if they could not take care of the situation in 6 months, they would lose grandfather status. It was also pointed out that the rules were governed by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. The order that Idaho Power cited, which was IPE-E-18-15,order no. 34546 covers four areas: 1) A customer who moves into a property with a grandfathered net-metering system gets to "inherit" the grandfathered status of the system. Likewise, when a customer moves from a property with a grandfathered system, that customer does not get to take the grandfathered status of the system with them to their ne×t property. 2) If a system is offline for more than six months, or it is moved to another site, the grandfathered status of the system is forfeited. 3) To allow for the replacement of degraded or broken panels, the customer may increase the capacity of the grandfathered system by no more than10% of the originally installed nameplate capacity or 1 kW, whichever is greater. 4) Grandfathered status terminates December 20, 2045 In the same order, there were several motions to reconsider for the purpose of having the grandfather clause be cited by the customer instead of the system. According to the Press Release issued for the order, it said,

20200206Press Release IPC E 18 15 by Mark Reinhardt on Scribd

In the complaint, the Hartzheim’s point out they had done their due diligence in notifying the Utilities of their situation. Filing the complaint with IPUC on the basis they believe their situation was not handled fairly pursuant to the rules,

20220920Formal Complaint Redacted by Mark Reinhardt on Scribd

In Idaho Power’s written answer to the complaint, they outlined several reasons why they could not accommodate the Middleton Homeowners,

20221102 Answer by Mark Reinhardt

More information to come, as soon as its available. Update: January, 14th 2023 The Idaho Public Utility Commission ruled in favor of the Middleton Homeowners citing circumstances relating to the facts of the case. They further mention in the order, it is a one time application, of an exemption to a previous order on file with the Commission.

20221230Final_Order_No_35651 by Mark Reinhardt on Scribd