Oregon PUC denies request to revoke permit for Boardman to Hemingway line
By Griffin Beach on Friday, November 14th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
SALEM – The Oregon Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Thursday denied a request to reconsider or revoke the Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) for the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) power transmission line..
A CPCN is a permit from PUC that grants a utility the right to construct new facilities deemed necessary and in the public interest. The CPCN was originally granted to Idaho Power in 2023.
The request to reconsider the permit argued that one of the project’s parties, PacificCorp, has changed its primary purpose for the line to serving data centers in Oregon. Idaho Power, PacifiCorp, and Bonneville Power Administration are signatories on a permit funding agreement for the project.
“The material change is that PacifiCorp explicitly removed the B2H from its 2025 integrated preferred portfolio for general system load, this purpose has shifted to serve a single new large load customer, a data center,” said Jim Kreider of the group STOP B2H at Thursday’s meeting.
Zach Rogala, an attorney who represented PacifiCorp, stated that the most cost-effective and productive ways to meet Oregon’s growing energy needs are located in other states, reiterating the need for the B2H project. He also addressed Kreider’s comments.
“We readily concede that we could have been more direct regarding the westbound transfer capability enabled by B2H, and we noted that in our initial response,” said Rogala.
Commissioners mentioned that while the specific needs of the lines may change, the project remains important for the state.
“I am comfortable with the need that Idaho Power has brought forward,” said Commission Chair Letha Tawney. “I recognize the evolving situation with PacifiCorp makes how the line will be used explicitly a little bit unclear, but the future need to connect the Northwest to the Intermountain West shows up over and over and over again.”
