ID — Power Infrastructure Updated 2026-07-17

Idaho

WECC Solar Wind Storage Coal Data Center PPAs

Method note

  • This section uses primary sources where available, including Idaho statutes and bill records, Idaho Public Utilities Commission filings and orders, Idaho Power planning materials, and local-government land-use records. News sources are used for project status when primary project filings are not public.

1) Grid operator and market structure

  • RTO/ISO: Idaho is in the Western Interconnection and is not inside an organized RTO/ISO such as PJM, MISO, SPP, ERCOT, CAISO, ISO-NE, or NYISO; major Idaho utilities operate through Western balancing-authority and bilateral/organized western-market structures rather than a centralized retail choice market. WECC Balancing Authorities, accessed 2026-07-17; U.S. EIA Idaho Electricity Profile, 2024 data
  • Balancing authorities serving Idaho: WECC lists Idaho Power as balancing authority IPCO, while PacifiCorp East/West and BPA balancing-authority operations affect service and transmission paths in and around Idaho. WECC Balancing Authorities, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Retail market structure: Idaho remains a traditionally regulated retail electricity state; EIA’s Idaho profile shows full-service provider sales and zero energy-only provider sales, consistent with no broad retail electric choice market for data centers. U.S. EIA Idaho Electricity Profile, 2024 data

2) Interconnection queue

  • Generator interconnection process: Idaho Power’s large generator interconnection process uses an annual cluster request window, with a 45-calendar-day cluster request window, a 60-calendar-day customer engagement window, and a 150-calendar-day cluster study. Idaho Power LGIP, accessed 2026-07-17
  • FERC Order 2023 context: FERC’s interconnection final rule requires cluster-study reforms, including a 150-day cluster study followed by a facilities study, which is the federal framework reflected in Idaho Power’s published process. FERC, 2023-07-27; Idaho Power generator interconnection FAQ, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Queue transparency: Idaho Power directs interconnection customers to OASIS for the application list and official queue information; public-facing utility pages do not provide a single Idaho data-center load queue depth metric. Idaho Power LGIP, accessed 2026-07-17; OATI OASIS IPCO, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Large-load service is separately regulated from generator interconnection. Idaho Code section 61-335 took effect July 1, 2026 and requires a commission-approved service contract for public-utility service to new loads that add 50 MW or more within any consecutive 60-month period; that regime governs large-customer onboarding and cost allocation, not generator-interconnection queue position. Idaho Legislature, current Idaho Code section 61-335, accessed 2026-07-17
  • 2032 resource RFP interconnection issue: In IPC-E-26-03, the IPUC approved Idaho Power’s 2032 all-source RFP and relaxed some proposed interconnection eligibility language by treating generator interconnection status as support for, rather than a rigid determinant of, commercial operation date feasibility. IPUC Order No. 37018, 2026-04-27

3) Ratepayer protection (PUC orders, tariffs, cost allocation)

  • Schedule 20 (Speculative High-Density Load): The IPUC approved Idaho Power’s Schedule 20 in IPC-E-21-37, Order No. 35428, to manage high-density speculative computing loads by reducing stranded-asset and cost-shift risks through a dedicated service schedule. IPUC Order No. 35428, 2022-06-15
  • Updated Schedule 20 marginal pricing: In IPC-E-25-17, Order No. 36619, the IPUC approved updated marginal cost-based pricing for Schedule 20 and Schedule 34, and directed Idaho Power to continue evaluating marginal cost forecasting methods. IPUC Order No. 36619, 2025-05-30
  • 2026 Schedule 20 update remains pending: In IPC-E-26-08, Idaho Power sought acknowledgment of its annual marginal-pricing update for Schedules 20 and 34 and authorization to maintain their current marginal energy price components. The notice states that the Single Run Method was then applied solely to Schedule 28 for Micron because there were no active Schedule 20 customers. The IPUC set modified-procedure comments for June 29 and replies for July 13; comments were filed, but the docket contained no final order as of July 17. IPUC Order No. 37007, 2026-04-17; IPUC Order No. 37061, 2026-06-08; IPUC docket IPC-E-26-08, accessed 2026-07-17
  • New large-load statute is in force: Idaho Code section 61-335 requires public utilities to file new-large-load service contracts with the IPUC before service; the filing must include a no-harm test, demonstrate full cost-of-service funding including generation, transmission, substation, and distribution investments, and include financial security against stranded or unrecoverable costs. The statute applies to contracts entered into on or after its July 1, 2026 effective date. Idaho Legislature H0911 status, 2026-04-10; Idaho Legislature, current Idaho Code section 61-335, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Large-load cost-of-service docket remains unresolved: In IPC-E-26-07, Idaho Power opened a dedicated class cost-of-service methodology proceeding that expressly identifies emerging challenges from large, concentrated load growth, including data centers and industrial customers, and lists tools such as energy services agreements, direct assignment of customer-specific infrastructure costs, and growth-sensitive allocation frameworks. Idaho Industrial Power Alliance requested a technical hearing on June 10, the IPUC staff supported one on June 18, and Idaho Power filed a discovery objection on June 25; the Commission had not selected a methodology or issued a final order by July 17. IPUC Order No. 36998, 2026-04-13; IPUC docket IPC-E-26-07, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Schedule 28 provides a parallel large-load contract precedent, not a data-center tariff: In IPC-E-24-44, the Commission’s July 8 final compliance order approved Micron’s initial special-contract rates of $0.04084 per kWh for energy, $3.12 per kW for contract demand, and $20.25 per kW for billing demand. Micron is a semiconductor manufacturer, so this order should not be treated as a data-center rate, but it illustrates the contract-based treatment of another very large Idaho load. IPUC Order No. 37092, 2026-07-08

4) Generation adequacy (projects, storage, shortfalls)

  • Idaho Power 2025 IRP preferred portfolio: Idaho Power’s 2025 Integrated Resource Plan evaluates the 2026-2045 planning period and includes major additions of solar, battery storage, wind, gas, transmission, demand-side management, and coal-to-gas conversions to meet load growth and reliability needs. Idaho Power 2025 IRP, 2025-06-25
  • IRP acknowledgment and quantified growth: On February 17, the IPUC acknowledged the 2025 IRP as a working planning document, not project preapproval. Idaho Power projects about 1,700 MW of demand growth through 2045; its preferred portfolio includes 1,445 MW of solar, 885 MW of battery storage, 700 MW of wind, 611 MW of coal-to-gas conversions, 550 MW of new gas, 344 MW of energy efficiency, and 20 MW of incremental demand response. IPUC, 2026-02-18
  • Load-growth-driven rate case context: Idaho Power states that new Idaho rates effective January 1, 2026 reflected a general rate review driven by rapid growth, reliability projects, new production and storage resources, grid investments, wildfire resilience, and labor costs; the company also states that large data centers are not causing all-customer rate increases and that Idaho requires large energy users to fund infrastructure needed to interconnect their business. Idaho Power 2025 General Rate Case, accessed 2026-07-17
  • 2032 all-source RFP approved: In IPC-E-26-03, the IPUC approved Idaho Power’s 2032 all-source request for proposals, which seeks resources for an incremental perfect capacity need of at least 200 MW in 2031 and 2032, with a greater need likely in 2032. IPUC Order No. 37018, 2026-04-27; Idaho Power Request for Resources, accessed 2026-07-17
  • South Hills and Peregrine gas plants remain pending: In IPC-E-26-04, Idaho Power requested CPCNs for the South Hills Power Plant, up to 222 MW nameplate with a June 1, 2029 commercial-operation date, and the Peregrine Power Plant, 430 MW nameplate with a June 1, 2030 commercial-operation date; the filing cites capacity deficits of 236 MW in 2029 and 352 MW in 2030. The Commission’s May 27 modified-procedure order set July 31 comments and August 14 replies, so no merits decision had been issued by July 17. IPUC Order No. 36994, 2026-04-06; IPUC Order No. 37048, 2026-05-27

5) Utility load forecasts (data center demand)

  • Idaho Power load growth: Idaho Power’s 2025 IRP and related company materials show sustained growth pressure; Idaho Power states the 2032 RFP is needed because it has experienced and expects sustained load growth and must add resources and infrastructure to reliably serve future customer demand. Idaho Power 2025 IRP, 2025-06-25; Idaho Power Request for Resources, accessed 2026-07-17
  • Data centers are now explicit in cost-allocation planning. Idaho Power’s IPC-E-26-07 petition identifies large, concentrated load growth such as data centers and industrial customers as a system-planning and cost-allocation challenge, making data centers part of Idaho’s formal utility rate-design agenda rather than only a project-development issue. IPUC Order No. 36998, 2026-04-13
  • PacifiCorp planning also recognizes high data center load. PacifiCorp’s 2025 IRP includes a High Data Center load scenario, signaling that data center demand is a planning uncertainty for the Rocky Mountain Power/PacifiCorp footprint that includes Idaho service territory. PacifiCorp 2025 IRP Volume II, 2025
  • Project-specific load signals through July 17, 2026: ValorC3 said its Boise facility would deliver 10 MW; T5’s Nampa project was reported at roughly 2.5 MW initially and 8.25 MW within two to five years. For Lex’s Pocatello proposal, Idaho Power’s February 3 preliminary study letters record a requested ramp from 8 MW in 2026 to 100 MW in 2031 and require separate $100,000 deposits for generation and construction studies, with no guarantee of service. The applicant described full buildout as 200 MW, but the City Council upheld the CUP denial on July 16. BoiseDev, 2026-03-26; Data Center Dynamics, 2025-09-04; Pocatello Development Authority packet, 2026-05-20; East Idaho News, 2026-07-16
  • Avista’s regional data-center negotiations were paused: Avista, which serves northern Idaho as part of an integrated multistate system, disclosed a May 29 nonbinding memorandum for a proposed data center in its Washington service territory, initially 125 MW in 2029 with a possible path to 500 MW in 2032. On June 12, Avista paused negotiations and processing while it considered community and policy concerns. This was not an Idaho project or an Idaho PUC proceeding, but its scale makes it a regional planning uncertainty for an Idaho-serving utility. Avista SEC Form 8-K, 2026-05-29; Avista SEC Form 8-K, 2026-06-12

6) Behind-the-meter / co-location / direct PPAs

7) Transmission constraints & upgrades

  • Boardman-to-Hemingway (B2H): Idaho Power states that existing transmission lines between the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West cannot carry more energy when it is needed most and that B2H will deliver up to 1,000 MW in each direction. Idaho Power B2H purpose and need, accessed 2026-07-17
  • B2H schedule update: Idaho Power’s 2026 WECC supplemental progress report describes B2H as a planned 500-kV project between Hemingway near Melba, Idaho, and Longhorn near Boardman, Oregon, with an end-of-2027 planned in-service date. WECC Idaho Power 2026 Annual Progress Report, 2026-04
  • Gateway West Segment E-8 became a 2026 CPCN proceeding. Idaho Power and PacifiCorp applied on April 3, 2026 for CPCNs for Segment E-8 of the Gateway West 500-kV line, a 133-mile Midpoint-to-Hemingway segment that would add 2,000 MW of transmission capacity and connect to Idaho Power’s proposed Mayfield substation; the companies requested a decision by October 31, 2026. IPUC Order No. 37010, 2026-04-20
  • Gateway West E-8 remains pending: PacifiCorp describes Segment E-8 as a joint project with Idaho Power intended to improve resilience and reliability and connect Midpoint near Jerome to Hemingway near Melba, while the IPUC notice says it would deliver energy to the Treasure Valley from Mountain Home and the Magic Valley. On June 16, the Commission set an August 21 comment deadline and September 11 reply deadline, so it had not ruled on the CPCNs by July 17. PacifiCorp Gateway West Segment E-8, accessed 2026-07-17; IPUC Order No. 37069, 2026-06-16