Idaho is also committed to work with FERC and other parties to encourage a united effort to streamline the licensing and re-licensing process. As we build new power plants and as we explore alternative forms of renewable energy, such as wind, solar, fuel cells, and geothermal, it will be imperative that government is a facilitator and not a hindrance to progress. There is a strange irony in all of this. Yet, some believe that government price controls are a solution. While they may appear to be appealing, price caps do not provide incentives for conservation, and they discourage investments in new generation by degrading the ability of investors to recover capital costs.
Price controls are contradictory to the principles of a free market.
They stifle competition, and they distort market conditions. Still, as public servants and officers of government, it is in our trust to ultimately work for the benefit of the public, both in the short-term and in the long. That is why Idaho is working to provide alternative solutions to government-imposed price controls. Today, I will sign into Idaho law Senate Bill 1255, which gives another tool to our Public Utilities Commission that they may use in the event that utilities incur substantially large debt that would require substantially high rate increases. To prevent potential sticker shock and to minimize the impact on our citizens, this bill authorizes our Public Utilities Commission to issue bonds to cover utility debt and spread the cost to consumers out over a period of time.