Bonner County commissioners back Inland Power residential battery pilot after safety and sourcing questions

The Bonner County Board of Commissioners voted to approve a letter of support for Inland Power and Light Cooperative’s residential battery-storage pilot program after commissioners reviewed written answers submitted by the utility and heard public comment on safety and outreach.

Commissioner Domke read the utility’s written responses into the record. Inland Power’s materials, as read, said siting and distribution details would be partly determined through a public process and that the most cost-effective installations would likely be inside a participating member’s garage or shop. The material read into the record also said members would own the batteries and maintain control of their configuration; the utility’s access would stop at the meter.

On fire safety, the written response stated that “fire protection and containment plans are best discussed with the installer.” Commissioners said Inland Power’s installer partner, Northwest Renewables, would attend public engagement meetings and provide documentation on battery models and safety protocols. The battery technologies Inland Power said it is considering included Enphase systems, which the utility’s materials indicated are manufactured in Texas.

Commissioners and the public discussed generator compatibility. Inland’s response, as read into the record, framed the issue as a cost-and-configuration question; connecting a backup generator to a customer configuration can incur additional configuration cost, and the utility planned to use public input to determine whether that configuration was desired. Commissioners emphasized that, per Inland’s stated approach, utility control would end at the meter and that homeowners could retain other backup options.

Members of the public raised safety concerns and asked for public-engagement dates. Resident Wayne Martin asked whether public comment dates had been set and raised concerns about thermal-runaway events and post-fire contamination associated with indoor battery installations. Commissioner Corn said he would provide meeting dates and noted that public sessions would be scheduled in Blanchard; during the meeting, commissioners gave one specific public engagement slot as August 20 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Blanchard Area Community Center and referenced an evening session (6:30–7:30 p.m.) with the meeting date to be posted. Commissioners also suggested working with local fire officials on preparedness and cleanup protocols as the county and utility engage the public.

In voting to approve the letter of support, the board recorded that Inland Power already has grant funding for the pilot and that the county’s action was a supportive, nonbinding endorsement. Commissioners instructed staff to provide public meeting dates and contact information to the public once finalized.

Ending: Commissioners said the item reflected a request for county support of an externally funded pilot program; technical details and safety protocols would be covered in public meetings and by the installer, Northwest Renewables.