How electricity is produced, delivered, priced and consumed is changing here and around the world.

Understanding why the price of electricity changes and how you can make a difference to combat rising prices is important as we work to create a stable, sustainable energy future.

It starts with the way all of us think about, use—or don’t use—electricity.

In the coming years, as methods for producing, delivering and pricing electricity evolve, we’ll adjust how and when we heat, cool and light our homes or businesses.

Our daily routines may change as we adjust when we wash our clothes or dishes, heat our water, cook our food or even go to work.

Driving these lifestyle changes are environmental concerns, the availability of electricity and the cost to produce it. And these changes aren’t happening just in Idaho and Oregon, or the Pacific Northwest. This is a national, even global phenomenon.

Electricity Rates

The good news is that our Idaho customers’ rates will remain stable for the near term. On Jan. 13, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission approved a rate settlement agreement resulting in a moratorium on base rates for customers through 2011.

In the future, other issues affecting your electric rates include possible legislative actions on renewable portfolio standards and renewable energy standards. These mandates may require using energy sources such as wind and solar, which are cleaner, yet often significantly more expensive.

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Demand Continues To Increase

Although the number of new customers coming into our service area has slowed, customer electric use continues to grow. Customer demand on our system is forecast to increase by an average of 13 megawatts (MW) per year and our peak system demand is expected to increase by 53 MW every year, enough electricity to power 31,800 average homes.

To meet current electric service demand and prepare to take advantage of economic development opportunities for our communities, more generation and transmission resources are needed. Simply put, the amount of electricity produced by Idaho Power’s plants isn’t enough to supply what we use.

At Idaho Power, we’re working hard to preserve our existing low-cost generation portfolio, particularly our clean hydroelectric power plants.

We’re looking at innovative ways to put more water into the Snake River through water leasing and cloud seeding. We’re also actively seeking cost-effective ways to encourage wise and efficient use of electricity by providing energy efficiency programs for all customers.

More importantly, we’re collaborating with our communities and neighbors to develop solutions for a reliable, responsible energy future.

Learn More

• Customer Rates
• Idaho Power-Owned Generation Resources
• Transmission
• Integrated Resource Plan
• Energy Efficiency Programs

We Want To Hear From You

E-mail us at: OurEnergyFuture@idahopower.com.