BPA drops water heater investigation
July 23, 2013
Correction: After publishing the article regarding the BPA, I received a phone call offering clarification. I failed in my quest for accuracy by forgetting to ask the name of my source and spelling it wrong; I also failed to ask the right questions; BPA is not an investigative body. The gist of the story stands.

An investigation by the Bonneville Power Administration of alleged illegal actions by City of Bonners Ferry officials regarding a test program involving a local test of high-efficiency water heaters ended Friday with no action taken.

The complaint, filed by city resident Gerald Higgs, was also lodged with city law enforcement and was forwarded through channels to the Idaho Attorney General's Office, with that investigation expected to begin in early August.

The allegations stem from a study conducted in 2010 under the aegis of BPA as part of the development process of next-generation heat pump water heater technology by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), under which 200 heat pump water heaters were installed in homes throughout the northwest, including Bonners Ferry and rigorously monitored and compared to standard electric resistance water heaters for overall efficiency.

In order to attain the random sampling required, BPA left selection of the recipients of the new water heaters to the heads of the utilities in the several regions where the test was conducted. In Bonners Ferry, that fell to city administrator Stephen Boorman, BPA's demonstration representative for Bonners Ferry.

Under the test, participants who received the water heaters had to meet numerous requirements, they had to be owner occupied, served by a single water heater, and a list of physical considerations; such as construction of the wall area enclosing the water heater, air circulation standards of the enclosure, outside access and more.

Those participating in the program had to have "always on" internet access and be willing to open their home for inspections when called upon during the course of the two-year study.

In Bonners Ferry, three homes were accepted to have the new heat pump water heaters installed out of four applications submitted. The single application rejected was due to the home not meeting the standards prescribed.

In his complaint, Higgs contends that because two of the recipients were employees of Bonners Ferry, one of them Boorman himself, several federal and state laws were broken.

The BPA, however, thought otherwise ... not only was Boorman's participation appropriate, it was appreciated.

"We wanted diverse regional participation, and had a few demonstration representatives meet the criteria and participate in the study," said BPA spokesman Joel Scott. "If you look at the site selection criteria, utility employees are not excluded."

While he could not cite specific applications, Scott said that one of the most often cited reasons for utility personnel participation was a skepticism of the technology, and if that was Boorman's rationale, it was well founded.

"The study found that overall, this is a technology worth pursuing, but more research is needed," Scott said. "In places like Eugene, Oregon, it met expectations and worked well, but in colder, drier places like North Idaho and northern Montana, the system didn't perform as well as standard water heaters."

In point of fact, two of the Bonners Ferry recipients requested that the system be removed and their old system restored before the study was concluded. The only local participant to stay for the duration, providing the honest data necessary to the success of such a study, was Boorman.

You can read more about the study and the technology by clicking here.