Idaho utility rates drop due to tax cuts

An Idaho Power transmission line lattice tower in a suburban environment near East Boise. Photo courtesy of Idaho Power.

Like so many dominoes, a series of Idaho public utilities reduced their rates on June 15, effective back to June 1. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission, which issued the announcements, credited the rate reductions to changes in federal and state tax laws.

“A main feature of the tax law that took effect Jan. 1 was to reduce the federal corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent,” noted one such release, from the Idaho Public Utilities Commission. “Soon after the federal law took effect, Idaho Governor C.L. ‘Butch’ Otter signed into law House Bill 463, reducing the state’s corporate tax rate from 7.4 percent to 6.925 percent. Since a utility’s tax expenses are a factor in determining customer rates, the Commission directed all regulated utilities in the state with more than 200 customers to report the financial benefits of the law and how it planned to pass those benefits along to customers.”