Every spring, Idaho Power makes two filings that impact rates for our customers in Idaho. These filings are called the Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA) and Power Cost Adjustment (PCA).
Fixed Cost Adjustment (FCA)
The FCA applies to residential and small general service customers in Idaho. It adjusts prices up or down based on changes in energy use per customer during the prior year. The FCA is a true-up mechanism that separates energy sales from revenue to remove financial disincentives for Idaho Power to invest in demand-side management, which can contribute to use per customer declining. In other words, the FCA allows the company to provide energy efficiency programs to residential and small general service customers without negative financial impacts.
Read more about this year’s FCA filing.
Power Cost Adjustment (PCA)
The PCA applies to all Idaho customers. It has two main components: a balancing account for power costs incurred the previous year and an estimate of what energy will cost in the coming year. The balancing account brings last year’s anticipated costs in balance with costs actually incurred the previous April through March. The estimate reflects Idaho Power’s anticipated fuel costs, purchased power costs, and customer benefits from sales of surplus energy for the coming April through March. Neither Idaho Power nor its shareholders receive any financial return from the PCA — money collected is used to recover costs or credit benefits associated with annual fluctuations in power costs.