With 17 low-cost hydroelectric projects at the core of our generation portfolio, water is one of Idaho Power’s most important fuels.

Year-to-year variability in snow pack and the resulting Snake River flows have a significant impact on Idaho Power’s fuel mix.

In low water years, our fuel mix will most likely contain higher percentages of coal and natural gas-fired generation, and purchases. In high water years, the percentage of hydroelectric generation will increase.

Since Idaho Power’s resources are changing, the portfolio’s typical fuel mix will change from year to year. With that in mind, it's difficult to identify a typical fuel mix; however, the following chart and table provide a current estimate of the fuel mix for Idaho Power’s resource portfolio1 under normal or average water conditions2.

1 This is an estimate of the fuel mix of Idaho Power’s supply-side resource portfolio, including market purchases. Fuel mix percentages may not total 100 percent due to rounding. However, since Idaho Power does not own the Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) associated with all of these resources, we cannot and do not represent that electricity produced by this fuel mix is being delivered to our retail customers. For more information on the energy delivered to our retail customers see Electricity Delivered to Customers.

2 Idaho Power's hydroelectric generation is based on 2011 Integrated Resource Plan median water conditions. Long-term power purchases and Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) contracts with known fuel sources are identified by the fuel type and generation is estimated on 2010 data. Short-term market purchases have been estimated and assigned the average of the Northwest Power Pool Net System Mix for 2007 through 2009.