The app for independent voices
Idaho Legislature: Ask Legislators to VOTE YES on H0395 - Electric service, ratepayer protect (amended) (posted 03/16/25, updated 03/26/25)
Bill: legislature.idaho.gov/s…
Contact Legislators (linked below): Please use Idaho Legislature website to find contact info. Details here: tinyurl.com/2r4uuj32
(Check the linked page or use My Bill Tracker for the bill’s current status.)
_______
H0395 requires that entities needing more than 10 megawatts of power (aka “large loads”) from a service provider such as a utility must pay the full cost of the energy generated. An entity may directly contract or otherwise obtain energy from a third party.
H0395 ensures that entities requiring additional energy, pay for that energy – without burdening the service provider’s smaller customers with rate increases or expense since the cost of new generation is allocated solely to the “large load” entity. In other words, power-hungry entities such as data centers cannot get special deals that negatively impact “ordinary” ratepayers.
Details:
Regulates how public utilities handle "new large loads" – defined as electric service requiring
1030 or more megawatts of power in a 12-month period.Prevents public utilities from providing service for new large loads using resources intended for their general ratepayers
Ensures that all costs associated with large-load service are recovered solely from the specific customer receiving the service, not from other ratepayers.
Electric consumers with new large loads can receive service from entities other than their default public utility.
Public utilities must make their transmission and distribution facilities available at cost to facilitate this competitive procurement.
Prevents customers from circumventing the "large load" designation through artificial load splitting or additional connections.
State's public utilities commission is empowered to create rules implementing these provisions, resolve related disputes, and ensure no cost shifts occur to other customers.
