Idaho Power Moves Key Regional Transmission Line Forward
By Garrett Christensen on Thursday, January 12th, 2023 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
UNION COUNTY – (Release from Idaho Power) Idaho Power took a big step Monday to enhance grid resiliency and continue a century-long tradition of providing reliable, affordable energy. The company applied for a key regulatory certificate in Idaho for the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) transmission line.
B2H is a proposed 290-mile, 500-kilovolt line that will connect a future substation near Boardman, Oregon, to Idaho Power’s existing Hemingway Substation in Owyhee County, Idaho. This connection between the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West will bolster power availability in both regions, where population and business growth, along with extreme weather, have driven peak energy demand to the limits of existing transmission lines’ capacity.
In the summer, when irrigation pumps and air conditioners drive up customer demand in southern Idaho, Idaho Power will use B2H to import up to 500 megawatts from the Pacific Northwest. That’s enough power for more than 150,000 average homes during Idaho Power’s peak usage hours on summer afternoons. Utilities in the Pacific Northwest will cover their customers’ highest demand in the winter by importing energy from the Intermountain West and other connected regions.
“It’s hard to overstate the importance of B2H and transmission projects like it,” said Ryan Adelman, Idaho Power’s Vice President of Power Supply. “This transmission line is the
lowest-cost, lowest-risk way to meet our customers’ growing needs. It will also help utilities across the northwestern U.S. by providing another transmission path to move energy and increase access to clean generation resources like hydro in the Pacific Northwest, wind in Wyoming and even solar in the Southwest.”
Idaho Power’s application for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity asks the Idaho Public Utilities Commission to recognize that B2H serves the public interest. It is a precursor to building and operating the project.
Idaho Power is also leading efforts for permits to build B2H across five counties on the eastern side of Oregon. The company hopes to break ground on B2H in the second half of 2023 and bring the project online as early as 2026.
For more information on B2H, visit idahopower.com/b2h.
