Idaho Power Company (IPC) is a regulated
electrical power utility. Its business involves the purchase, sale,
generation,
transmission
Transmission may refer to:
Medicine, science and technology
* Power transmission
** Electric power transmission
** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power
*** Automatic transmission
*** Manual transmission
*** ...
and
distribution Distribution may refer to:
Mathematics
*Distribution (mathematics), generalized functions used to formulate solutions of partial differential equations
* Probability distribution, the probability of a particular value or value range of a vari ...
of
electricity in eastern
Oregon and southern
Idaho. It is a subsidiary of
IDACORP, Inc. The company's service area generally follows the area around the
Snake River
The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
and its tributaries.
Idaho Power owns and operates 17
hydroelectric dams[Idaho Power Company]
Hydroelectric
. March 10, 2011. and three
natural gas power plants. IPC also owns shares of two
coal-fired power plants.
[Idaho Power Company]
Thermal
March 10, 2011.
In 2007, electricity sold by IPC was 33% hydroelectric, 39% thermal, and 28% purchased from other generation companies.
[Idaho Power Company]
Facts
March 10, 2011.
History
Idaho Power Company originally filed for incorporation in
Maine on May 6, 1915. It was reincorporated in Idaho as a subsidiary of
IDACORP, Inc on October 1, 1998.
This was followed by the purchase of the assets of five small southern Idaho power companies: Idaho-Oregon Light & Power; Great Shoshone and Twin Falls Water Power; Idaho Railway, Light & Power; Idaho Power & Light; and Southern Idaho Water Power Company.
In 2018 Idaho Power sponsored the annual "Drive Electric Week" car show event at the state capitol. At the show people can learn about
electric vehicle
An electric vehicle (EV) is a vehicle that uses one or more electric motors for propulsion. It can be powered by a collector system, with electricity from extravehicular sources, or it can be powered autonomously by a battery (sometimes cha ...
s. Interest in electric vehicles has increased because of changing gas prices, improvements in battery technology, concerns for the environment and federal tax incentives for buying electric vehicles. To respond to customer interest, Idaho Power added tools to its website to guide customers investigating purchasing an electric vehicle.
In 2019, Idaho Power set a goal to provide 100-percent clean energy by 2045. In addition to its hydropower facilities, which typically meet almost half its customers’ energy demands, Idaho Power plans additional investments in wind, solar and other clean sources. Clean energy resources are becoming more affordable, which could help Idaho Power accomplish its goal while keeping prices fair. Grid upgrades and battery-storage technology should help maintain Idaho Power's impressive reliability while moving the company closer to its goal. Continued energy efficiency efforts will help. Clean energy initiatives are not new to Idaho Power. In 2009, the company adopted a resolution to reduce carbon emissions. Since then, it has made sustainable, measurable advances toward a clean-energy future, all while providing reliable power at affordable prices. Idaho Power has reduced its carbon emissions intensity — measured in pounds of carbon dioxide () per megawatt-hour — by almost 50 percent since 2005. The company has entered agreements to end participation in two coal plants and is exploring exiting a third — and final — coal plant.
Hydroelectricity
IPC's 17
hydroelectric power plants
Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...
have a generation nameplate capacity of 1,988,615 kilowatts,
and it is one of the nation's few investor-owned utilities with a significant hydroelectric generating base. Four-fifths of Idaho's electricity generation is from hydroelectric. Idaho Power built the majority of its hydroelectric facilities during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, culminating with completion of the three-dam Hells Canyon Complex (
Brownlee Dam,
Oxbow Dam, then
Hells Canyon Dam
Hells Canyon Dam is a concrete gravity dam in the western United States, on the Snake River in Hells Canyon along the Idaho-Oregon border. At river mile 247, the dam impounds Hells Canyon Reservoir; its spillway elevation is above sea level.
It ...
) in 1968.
*
American Falls Dam
The American Falls Dam is a concrete gravity-type dam located near the town of American Falls, Idaho, on river mile 714.7 of the Snake River. The dam and reservoir are a part of the Minidoka Project on the Snake River Plain and are used primaril ...
power plant at
river mile 714.7.
*
Milner Dam
Milner Dam is a rockfill dam near Burley in south central Idaho. It impounds the Snake River in a reservoir named Milner Lake. The dam spans the river across two islands, with three embankments.
Milner Dam was authorized for construction as a ...
power plant at river mile 639.1.
* Twin Falls power plant at river mile 617.4.
*
Shoshone Falls
Shoshone Falls () is a waterfall in the western United States, on the Snake River in south-central Idaho, approximately northeast of the city of Twin Falls. Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is in height, higher than ...
power plant at river mile 614.7.
* Clear Lake power plant at river mile 593.0.
* Thousand Springs power plant at river mile 584.7.
* "Mid-Snakes Project" in Central Idaho on the Snake River consisting of the Upper Salmon Falls power plant (river mile 580.8), the Lower Salmon Falls power plant (river mile 573.0), and the
Bliss Dam
Bliss Dam is a concrete gravity-type hydroelectric dam on the Snake River, in the U.S. state of Idaho. The dam is located near Bliss, Idaho.
Along with the Upper Salmon Falls and Lower Salmon Falls dam projects, Bliss Dam is part of Idaho Power ...
power plant at river mile 560.3.
* "The Malads": Upper Malad and Lower Malad power plants at river mile 571.2.
*
Cascade Dam
Lake Cascade (formerly Cascade Reservoir), is a reservoir in the western United States, on the North Fork of the Payette River in Valley County, Idaho. Located in the Boise National Forest, it has a surface area of , and is the fourth larg ...
power plant on the
Payette River.
*
C. J. Strike Dam
C. J. Strike Dam is an earth-fill type Hydroelectricity, hydroelectric dam in the Western United States, western United States, on the Snake River in Southwestern Idaho, southwestern Idaho. Located just below the Bruneau River confluence near Grand ...
power plant at river mile 494.0.
*
Swan Falls Dam
Swan Falls Dam is a concrete gravity type hydroelectric dam in the western United States, on the Snake River in southwestern Idaho. At the dam, the river is the border of Ada and Owyhee counties; it is approximately east of Murphy, the s ...
power plant at river mile 457.7.
* "Hells Canyon Complex": Brownlee Dam power plant at river mile 285.0, Oxbow Dam power plant at river mile 272, and the Hells Canyon Dam power plant at river mile 251.
See also
*
List of companies based in Idaho
References
External links
*http://www.idahopower.com/
{{authority control
Companies based in Boise, Idaho
Electric power companies of the United States
Hydroelectric power companies of the United States
American companies established in 1915
1915 establishments in Maine
1998 establishments in Idaho