The current discussion about energy in Idaho reminds me of the story of two campers who were wakened one night by the sound of a hungry grizzly bear pillaging their campsite. While one camper is carefully putting on his running shoes, the other hisses, ‘Are you crazy? You can’t outrun a grizzly bear!’ The first camper calmly points out, ‘I don’t have to outrun the bear. I just have to outrun you!’ For much of our history, we have enjoyed the comfortable campsite of low electric rates (currently the lowest in the country) while at the same time, living in fear of the bear lurking nearby who wants to increase rates through higher fuel costs, increased capital costs or expenses related to integration of intermittent renewable generation. We fear that higher rates will be disastrous to the business community and, hence, economic development in general. The stark reality is that our rates will go up, no matter what we do. Whether we add new generation in the form of natural gas turbine generators or buy power on the open market, regulatory forces (in the form of carbon-based regulations) and fuel price fluctuations will act like the bear and […]