Idaho state regulators certify $40 million in spending on efficiency programs in 2016

More than $40 million spent on energy efficiency programs by Idaho Power will be funded by the Energy Efficiency Rider, which accounts for approximately 3.75 percent of residential customer bills after state regulators recently verified that efficiency program spending was prudently incurred.

Idaho Public Utilities Commission assesses whether 22 efficiency programs, also referred to as demand side management (DSM), numerous educational initiatives and three demand-response programs offered by Idaho Power are efficient and cost-effective before efficiency riders can be used to pay for them.

The recent determination that $40 million in spending on efficiency programs was prudently incurred clears the way for efficiency riders to fund the programs, ensuring that investor-owned utilities won’t be liable for the expenses.

“The goal of the demand-response programs is not to cut energy use but rather to shift it away from period of peak demand for energy among customers, in order to reduce demand on a utility’s generation system and prevent or delay the need for new generation,” the Idaho Public Utilities Commission stated in a release.

In 2016, efficiency programs provided Idaho Power with 392 megawatts of load-shedding capacity, saving a total of 170,792 megawatt-hours, or is enough to power 14,000 homes for a year.

Savings, which increased approximately 4 percent from 2015, consisted of 88,161 megawatt-hours from commercial and industrial customers, 42,269 megawatt-hours from the residential sector, 15,747 megawatt-hours from irrigators and approximately 24,626 megawatt-hours from energy-efficiency market transformation savings.