Idaho Power

P.O. Box 70, Boise, Idaho, United States | Hydro

At Idaho Power, we work hard every day to bring energy to your door. We do it safely and proudly. You can rest easier knowing we are always there. Planning for the future, caring for the environment, partnering with you. Big and small. Day and night. Today and tomorrow.
We are your neighbors, your friends and your family, and you can always count on us for reliable, responsible, fair-priced service.

Our Tradition

Our company was born in 1916, when five companies combined assets, including water rights and hydroelectric facilities on the Snake River, to form Idaho Power.

Those five companies were:

  • Idaho-Oregon Light & Power
  • Idaho Railway Light & Power
  • Idaho Power & Light
  • Great Shoshone and Twin Falls Water Power
  • Southern Idaho Water Power

Harnessing The Power of Falling Water

The bulk of our generating ability comes from our 17 hydroelectric power plants. We are proud to be one of the nation's few investor-owned utilities with a significant hydroelectric generating base. During the 1940s, 50s and 60s, we built the majority of our hydroelectric facilities, culminating with the completion of the three-dam Hells Canyon Complex in 1968.

With headquarters in Boise, Idaho, and an employee base of approximately 2,000 people, Idaho Power is an electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, sale and purchase of electric energy.

Our Energy Future

Population growth and increasing energy consumption continue to challenge utilities nationwide. In our service area, planners estimate adding thousands of new customers annually into the year 2020.

Since 1916 we've been here for you. Powering homes, schools and businesses, ensuring prosperity for our communities with reliable, low-cost electricity then and now.

Idaho Power must balance competing considerations to ensure comfort and security for today's customers, as well as tomorrow's.

Balancing the elements of our three-part strategy — responsible energy planning, responsible development and protection of resources, and responsible energy use — ensures we meet future challenges thoughtfully.

Our energy future and the future of our communities is dependent on the understanding, input and actions of each of us. Wise use of energy helps ensure reliability and keeps your monthly bill low.

In addition, every kilowatt saved is one we don't have to generate, reducing the number of additional new resources required and the need to purchase power on the open market, often at a premium.

 

Getting To Know Us

Idaho Power is an electric utility engaged in the generation, transmission, distribution, sale and purchase of electric energy and is regulated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the state regulatory commissions of Idaho and Oregon. The company is involved in the following business activities:

  • Generation — we rely on our 17 hydroelectric generating plants on the Snake River and its tributaries, natural gas-fired plants and shares of three jointly-owned coal-fired plants.
  • Transmission — to get electricity generated at Hells Canyon, for example, to homes and businesses, it's first transmitted over long distances on transmission lines to substations.
  • Distribution - distribution lines are smaller than transmission lines and are used to bring electricity from substations to homes and businesses.
  • Sales — of electricity to retail (residential, business and irrigation) and wholesale (other utilities, energy marketing companies and incorporated municipalities) customers.
  • Purchases — we purchase from the wholesale market when additional energy is needed to serve customer loads or when purchasing from the market is less costly than running our generating plants.

 

With 17 low-cost hydroelectric projects as the core of our generation portfolio, our residential, business and agricultural customers pay some of the nation's lowest prices for electricity.

As of Dec. 31, 2015

Service Area

Our unique service area spans some of the most rugged and remote landscape across southern Idaho and eastern Oregon.

Population of Service Area:1,060,000 (estimate)

Square Miles of Service Area: 24,000 (estimate) in southern Idaho and eastern Oregon

Percent of operating revenues by jurisdiction:

  • Idaho 95%
  • Oregon 5%

Customers

Total: 524,865

Residential Customers Added in the Past Year: 7,808

Commercial and Industrial Customers added in the Past Year: 827

Irrigation Customers added in the Past Year: 467

Transmission and Distribution:

Number of Step-Up Transmission Substations (1)24

Number of Energized Distribution Substations (Excluding Mobile Substations and Dispatch Centers) (2)224

Number of Transmission Substations (3): 24

Number of Switching Stations (4): 10

Transmission Line Pole Miles: 4,860

Distribution Line Pole Miles (Underground & Overhead): 27,092

(1) Increases voltage from power plants to higher voltage transmission line levels for long distance transmission of power.

(2) Reduces voltage from higher voltage transmission line levels to lower voltage for safe distribution to customers.

(3) ) Stations connecting two or more transmission lines with at least one transformer converting one transmission voltage level to another transmission voltage level (i.e. 230 kV to 138 kV).

(4) Stations connecting two or more transmission lines of the same voltage (no voltage transformation).

Employees

Number of Full-Time Employees: 2,002

Sales and Load Facts (2015)

Total Annual Sales: 15,519,000 Megawatt-Hours

Peak Summer Load (June 30, 2015 at 4:00 p.m.): 3,402 Megawatts

Peak Winter Load (Dec. 1, 2015 at 8:00 a.m.): 2,241 Megawatts

All-time Summer System Peak (July 2, 2013 at 4:00 p.m.): 3,407 Megawatts

All-time Winter System Peak (Dec. 10, 2009 at 8:00 a.m.): 2,528 Megawatts

Nameplate Generation: 3,594

The company is regulated by:

  • The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  • The Idaho Public Utilities Commission
  • The Oregon Public Utility Commission

Idaho Power is the chief operating subsidiary of holding company IDACORP, Inc., traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol IDA.

Company Details
Company NameIdaho Power
Business CategoryHydro
AddressP.O. Box 70
Boise
Idaho
United States
ZIP: 83707
PresidentDarrel T. Anderson
Year Established1916
Employees5000
MembershipsNA
Hours of OperationNA

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