About the Project

The Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project is important to Idaho Power’s service area and the Pacific Northwest as a whole. Transmission paths are key to bringing electricity into and through the Idaho Power service area, and helping to serve other utilities.

The Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project would reduce constraints on the Pacific Northwest’s transmission system as demand for energy continues to grow. The transmission line would also increase transmission capacity, improve system reliability and ensure Idaho Power can provide future service for its customers as well as other utility customers in Idaho and Oregon. The new 500 kilovolt transmission line would run from northeast Oregon to southwestern Idaho.

Idaho Power’s 2006 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) [PDF, 891 KB], also known as the Energy Plan for the Future, outlines the 20-year plan for meeting the company’s electric service needs and the growing energy demand in the Pacific Northwest. In February 2009, ldaho Power filed its 2006 Integrated Resource Plan Addendum seeking the Commission's approval to include its planned Boardman to Hemingway Project within the context of its previously acknowledged 2006 IRP. As part of its review process, the Oregon Public Utility Commission (OPUC) held public hearings on the IRP addendum in March 2009. In April 2009, Idaho Power officially suspended its IRP addendum review. Idaho Power will now include the Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project in its 2009 IRP which will be published later this year.

Idaho Power is working with the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service on their environmental review and analysis and with the Oregon Department of Energy's Energy Facility Siting Council to permit and construct this project.

This Web site is the joint Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project site. Information contained on this site is approved for posting by Idaho Power. Visit the Idaho Power Web site.