Idaho Power is planning to build two new natural gas facilities to help keep up with the Gem State’s growing electricity demand.
IDAHO, USA — Idaho Power is planning to build two new natural gas power plants as the utility company works to keep pace with the state’s rapid population growth and increasing demand for electricity.
The proposed facilities, South Hills and Peregrine, would be located near Twin Falls and in Elmore County. Eric Hackett, power production and resource development director, said the projects are needed because Idaho’s growth is outpacing the company’s ability to add new energy resources.
“With growth comes more demand across all of our service territory,” Hackett said. “That growth is across multiple sectors, anything from residential and irrigation – we’re seeing a lot in the manufacturing and industrial.”
The South Hills facility is expected to open in 2029, while the Peregrine project is planned for 2030. Together, the plants would add about 800 megawatts of natural gas-fired generation to Idaho Power’s system.
“To put that in perspective, our system peak, as it sits today, is about 4000 megawatts,” Hackett said. “We were expecting that to be up above 5,000 megawatts in the foreseeable future.”
The new facilities would become the fourth and fifth natural gas plants in Idaho Power’s fleet and are expected to be the most efficient gas-fired resources on the company’s system.
The proposal comes as Idaho Power continues to invest in renewable energy. Since 2021, the company has added roughly 500 megawatts of renewable resources and expects another 500 megawatts of renewable energy and battery storage to come online within the next few years.
Still, Hackett said population and economic growth are exceeding those additions.
“We’ve added about 500 megawatts renewables onto our system, and we have another 500 or so megawatts of renewables and storage coming on over the next couple of years,” Hackett said. “Even with all that addition, growth is simply outpacing those new resources.”
Currently, hydroelectric dams provide about 40% of Idaho Power’s energy supply. Natural gas accounts for roughly 20%, while another 20% comes from wind, solar and battery storage resources.
Hackett said customers have not seen any rate increases related to the proposed projects.
“There’s been no rate impact to date,” Hackett said.
However, any future costs associated with the facilities could eventually be reflected in customer rates. Before that can happen, the projects would undergo a regulatory prudency review after they begin operating.
According to Idaho Power, planning and permitting efforts for the projects began in 2021. Construction could start as early as 2027 and would take about two years for each facility.
If construction stays on schedule, South Hills would be completed by the summer of 2029, followed by Peregrine in the summer of 2030.
