Wood River-Ketchum Transmission Line

Project Need

The Wood River-Ketchum transmission line will give the Sun Valley-Ketchum area a second power connection, helping our customers keep their lights on and heaters running in case a mishap — like bad weather — interrupts service on either line.

For more information, visit the project website.

Today, power in the upper Wood River Valley comes from a single 60-year-old transmission line. That line has served the community well, but it’s due for a rebuild. Electrical standards call for a second connection to the grid to improve reliability. That’s especially true in the upper valley, where severe weather and steep terrain can delay repairs to downed lines.

In 2017, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission recognized this need and authorized Idaho Power to build the Wood River-Ketchum transmission line. The Blaine County Board of Commissioners approved a permit for the project in March 2021. In March 2023, the Idaho Supreme Court upheld that permit.

Work on this project, including burial of existing distribution lines, began in 2023. It is scheduled for completion in 2025.

We look forward to continuing our long tradition of reliable, affordable, clean energy in Blaine County and beyond.

Route of proposed transmission line and line segments to be buried

Community Input

Idaho Power worked with the Wood River Community Advisory Committee, a group of government officials, business leaders, local residents and other stakeholders, to develop the Wood River Electrical Plan in 2007. The committee refined the plan in 2008 and updated it in 2011.

The committee studied electrical service across the Wood River Valley on behalf of customers and recognized the need for a second 138-kV transmission line between Hailey and the Ketchum–Sun Valley area.

In October 2014, Idaho Power reconvened the committee to evaluate alternatives to the proposed line. The Wood River-Ketchum project again emerged as the preferred way to enhance reliability in the north Wood River Valley.

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