TITLE 61

PUBLIC UTILITY REGULATION

CHAPTER 3

DUTIES OF PUBLIC UTILITIES

61-335.  new large load and ratepayer protection. (1) For the purposes of this section:

(a)  "Electric service" means electricity furnished to an ultimate consumer by a public utility.

(b)  "Increase in a cumulative power requirement" means the maximum contracted demand, expressed in megawatts, measured relative to the highest contracted demand of such service entrance in the previous sixty (60) month period.

(c)  "New large load" means any electrical load associated with a new service entrance, any additional electric service associated with a change, enlargement, or other modification of a service entrance, or the utilization of an existing service entrance that:

(i)   Results in an increase in a cumulative power requirement of such service entrance of fifty (50) megawatts or more in any consecutive sixty (60) month period; and

(ii)  Is subject to a service contract with a public utility that was entered into on or after July 1, 2026.

(d)  "No harm test" means an assessment by the public utilities commission to determine the impact a new large load will have on the rates of existing utility customers.

(e)  The following terms shall have the same meaning as provided for in section 61-332A, Idaho Code:

(i)   "Commission";

(ii)  "Consumer";

(iii) "New service entrance";

(iv)  "Public utility"; and

(v)   "Service entrance."

(2)  A public utility shall provide service to a new large load only pursuant to a commission-approved service contract.

(3)  A public utility shall file the service contract with the commission for approval prior to providing service to a new large load. Such filing shall include a no harm test and other supporting information sufficient to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of this section.

(4)  The commission shall review and approve or deny a new large load service contract within two hundred seventy (270) days of receiving such filing by the public utility. The commission shall approve the service contract if the public utility demonstrates that:

(a)  It is reasonably expected to maintain the same or higher level of service quality and reliability available to the public utility’s other customers as would have been reasonably expected to exist had the public utility not served the new large load; and

(b)  The new large load is responsible for funding its full cost of service, including its share of generation, transmission, substation, and distribution infrastructure investments that would not be placed in service or be required by the public utility but for the new large load. Such investments may be directly assigned or allocated in part as may be determined by the commission pursuant to this section.

(5)  A new large load shall not change its status as such by means of artifice, such as by splitting its load among more than one (1) electric service entrance or by adding additional connections, meters, or new service entrances to serve an otherwise single entity or enterprise.

(6)  Approval of a service contract shall be conditioned on the new large load furnishing financial security, in a form and amount approved by the commission, that is reasonably sufficient to protect the public utility and its other customers from the risk of stranded costs, unrecoverable costs, or unrecoverable investments incurred by the public utility in reliance on the new large load’s contracted power requirement.

(7)(a)  In each general rate case filed by a public utility, the commission shall review the rates, charges, and cost recovery mechanisms applicable to an approved service contract as part of a comprehensive public utility cost study to ensure the new large load is assigned its full cost of service.

(b)  The commission may, if necessary, prospectively adjust the applicable rates, charges, and cost recovery mechanisms pursuant to this section.

(8)(a)  The commission shall issue orders setting forth guidance or other requirements necessary to implement the provisions of this section and to provide reasonable assurance that new large loads will not cause the rates charged to the public utility’s other customers to increase.

(b)  The commission shall have the jurisdiction to resolve all disputes arising under this section.

(9)  Providing electric service pursuant to this section shall not be construed to:

(a)  Be a grant of preference or advantage;

(b)  Subject any person or corporation to any prejudice or disadvantage; or

(c)  Establish or maintain any unreasonable difference in rates, charges, or services in any respect.

History:

[61-335, added 2026, ch. 335, sec. 1, p. 1315.]