Idaho Power Company
Encyclopedia
Idaho Power Company is a regulated electrical power utility
. Its business involves the purchase, sale, generation
, transmission
and distribution
of electricity
in eastern Oregon
and southern Idaho
. It is a subsidiary of IDACORP, Inc. The company's 24000 square miles (62,159.7 km²) service area generally follows the area around the Snake River
and its tributaries.
Idaho Power owns and operates 17 hydroelectric dams
and 2 natural gas
power plants
. IPC also owns shares of three coal
-fired power plants.
In 2007, electricity sold by IPC was 33% hydroelectric, 39% thermal and 28% was purchased from other generation companies.
on May 6, 1915. It was reincorporated in Idaho as a subsidiary of IDACORP, Inc on October 1, 1998.
with a generation nameplate capacity of 1,988,615 kilowatts.
Electric utility
An electric utility is a company that engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major provider of energy in most countries. It is indispensable to factories, commercial establishments,...
. Its business involves the purchase, sale, generation
Electricity generation
Electricity generation is the process of generating electric energy from other forms of energy.The fundamental principles of electricity generation were discovered during the 1820s and early 1830s by the British scientist Michael Faraday...
, transmission
Electric power transmission
Electric-power transmission is the bulk transfer of electrical energy, from generating power plants to Electrical substations located near demand centers...
and distribution
Electrical distribution industry
The electrical distribution industry encompasses the wholesale and retail sales of electrical equipment and products for electricity distribution...
of electricity
Electricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
in eastern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
and southern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
. It is a subsidiary of IDACORP, Inc. The company's 24000 square miles (62,159.7 km²) service area generally follows the area around the Snake River
Snake River
The Snake is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean...
and its tributaries.
Idaho Power owns and operates 17 hydroelectric dams
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
and 2 natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
power plants
Fossil fuel power plant
A fossil-fuel power station is a power station that burns fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas or petroleum to produce electricity. Central station fossil-fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation...
. IPC also owns shares of three coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
-fired power plants.
In 2007, electricity sold by IPC was 33% hydroelectric, 39% thermal and 28% was purchased from other generation companies.
History
Idaho Power Company originally filed for incorporation in MaineMaine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
on May 6, 1915. It was reincorporated in Idaho as a subsidiary of IDACORP, Inc on October 1, 1998.
Hydroelectricity
IPC owns and operates 17 hydroelectric power plantsHydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
with a generation nameplate capacity of 1,988,615 kilowatts.
- American Falls DamAmerican Falls DamThe American Falls Dam is a concrete gravity-type dam located near the town of American Falls, Idaho, on river mile 714.7 of the Snake River. The dam and reservoir are a part of the Minidoka Project on the Snake River Plain and are used primarily for flood control, irrigation, and recreation...
power plant - Bliss DamBliss DamBliss Dam is a concrete gravity-type hydroelectric dam on the Snake River, in the U.S. state of Idaho. The dam is located near Bliss, Idaho.Along with the Upper Salmon Falls and Lower Salmon Falls dam projects, Bliss Dam is part of Idaho Power Company's Mid-Snake Projects. The Mid-Snake Projects in...
power plant - Brownlee DamBrownlee DamBrownlee Dam is a hydroelectric earth fill embankment dam on the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon border, in Hells Canyon . It impounds the Snake River in the long Brownlee Reservoir...
power plant - C. J. Strike DamC. J. Strike DamC. J. Strike Dam is an earth-fill type hydroelectric dam on the Snake River, just below the Bruneau River confluence, in the U.S. state of Idaho. Its location is near Grand View, Idaho. Its impoundment extends up the Snake River and 12 miles up the Bruneau River.The dam's powerplant has a...
power plant - Hells Canyon DamHells Canyon DamHells Canyon Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Snake River in Hells Canyon on the Idaho-Oregon border. The dam impounds the Snake River in Hells Canyon Reservoir; its spillway elevation is above sea level....
power plant - Milner DamMilner DamMilner Dam is a rockfill dam near Burley in south central Idaho. It impounds the Snake River in a reservoir named Milner Lake. The dam spans the river across two islands, with three embankments....
power plant - Oxbow DamOxbow DamOxbow Dam is a hydroelectric run-of-the-river rockfill dam on the Snake River on the Idaho-Oregon border, in Hells Canyon . It is part of the Hells Canyon Project that also includes Hells Canyon Dam and Brownlee Dam, built and operated by Idaho Power Company.The dam's powerhouse contains four...
power plant - Shoshone FallsShoshone FallsShoshone Falls is a waterfall on the Snake River located approximately five miles east of Twin Falls, Idaho. Sometimes called the "Niagara of the West," Shoshone Falls is 212 feet high—45 feet higher than Niagara Falls—and flows over a rim 1,000 feet wide.A park overlooking the waterfall is...
power plant