Project Information

The Boardman to Hemingway Transmission Line Project (B2H Project) is important to Idaho Power’s service area and the 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.

Idaho Power anticipates the B2H Project will:

• Enable transportation of low-cost energy from various generation sources in the Northwest to serve homes, farms and businesses in the region, including allowing excess wind generation to flow throughout the region to where it is needed.
• Improve system reliability and reduce constraints on the Northwest’s transmission system as demand for energy continues to grow.
• Connect the Idaho Power service area with the Northwest power grid to meet seasonal energy demands.
• Ensure Idaho Power’s ability to meet customers’ existing and future energy needs in Oregon and Idaho, which will also benefit all communities in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain Regions.

The new 500 kV transmission line would run from a proposed substation in northeast Oregon to the Hemingway Substation in southwest Idaho.

Idaho Power is working with BLM and USFS during their environmental review and analysis and with ODOE-EFSC to permit and construct this project.

Idaho Power first identified the need to pursue Pacific Northwest transmission upgrades in its 2000 and 2002 Integrated Resource Plans (IRP). An IRP addresses future energy obligations and anticipated regulation while minimizing the impact to customers and owners; includes Idaho Power’s energy efficiency programs which help balance growing energy demand with variable supply; and recognizes Idaho Power’s need to support increased economic activity and customer use. A significant component of providing reliable service to customers is securing necessary resource infrastructure, such as the B2H Project.

The transmission line project was later identified in Idaho Power’s 2006 IRP and 2008 IRP Update. The project has been included in Idaho Power’s subsequent 2009 IRP and 2011 IRP to the Idaho and Oregon public utility commissions. The 2009 IRP was acknowledged by the Oregon Public Utility Commission; however, the acknowledgment has specific conditions related to further analysis in its 2011 IRP. The Idaho and Oregon public utility commissions are actively reviewing the 2011 IRP.

The Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) and PacifiCorp are exploring joint participation with Idaho Power on the B2H Project as they evaluate options for meeting demand throughout their service territories. Agreements, signed Jan. 12, 2012 by the three, provide funding for environmental review and permitting. The agreements also ensure continued consideration of the project but do not commit participation in construction.

BPA is a non-profit federal agency that markets renewable hydropower from federal Columbia River dams, operates three-quarters of the high-voltage transmission lines in the Northwest and funds one of the largest wildlife protection and restoration programs in the world. BPA and its partners have saved enough electricity through energy efficiency projects to power four large American cities. For more information, contact us at 503-230-5131 or visit our website at www.bpa.gov.

PacifiCorp is one of the lowest-cost electricity producers in the United States, serving more than 1.7 million customers in the West. PacifiCorp operates as Pacific Power in Oregon, Washington and California, and as Rocky Mountain Power in Utah, Wyoming and Idaho. With a generating capability of more than 10,620 megawatts from coal, hydro, gas-fired combustion turbines and renewable wind and geothermal power, the company works to meet growing energy demand while protecting and enhancing the environment. For more information, visit www.pacificorp.com.

This website 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 website.