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, 2009

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 (estimated): 1,000,000

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

Customers

Total: 489,923

Residential Customers Added in the Past Year: 2,258

Learn more about our customers.

Transmission and Distribution:

Number of Substations (1): 271

Number of Step Up Stations (2): 27

Transmission Line Pole Miles: 4,796

Distribution Line Pole Miles (Underground & Overhead): 26,675

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

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

Employees

Number of Full-Time Employees:1,979

Sales and Load Facts (2009)

Total Annual Sales: 16,784,308 Megawatt-Hours

Peak Summer Load (July 22, 2009): 3,031 Megawatts

Peak Winter Load (Dec. 10, 2009): 2,528 Megawatts

All-time Summer System Peak (June 30, 2008): 3,214 Megawatts

All-time Winter System Peak (Dec. 10, 2009): 2,528 Megawatts

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.