Idaho Power asks customers to reduce consumption as state preps for ‘excessive’ heat wave

Idaho Power, the utility company that services Southern Idaho, is asking customers to conserve energy in anticipation of a string of 100-plus degree days next week.

Boise is expected to see temperatures rise above 100 degrees beginning on Sunday afternoon, and to hit 100 degrees on consecutive days at least through July 1, according to the National Weather Service. The Service issued an excessive heat warning on Thursday, which will last from noon Sunday until midnight on July 1.

Temperatures may be as high as 112 degrees across Southwest Idaho below 5,000 feet of elevation, the warning said, which will likely cause an increase in air conditioning use.

In Idaho, the combination of extreme heat and drought could cause issues for utility companies.

“We don’t expect to have to interrupt service to our customers like you sometimes see in other places,” Adam Richins, senior vice president of Idaho Power, told the Idaho Statesman by phone. “But when you start to see near-record temperatures for several days in a row, which is obviously what we’re going to see in the next multiple days, and then you couple that with pretty significant droughts we’re seeing across the West, you do start to see scarcity in energy markets, especially related to that transmission issue.”

On Thursday, the company asked its 590,000 customers to reduce their energy use from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. over the next week to reduce the expected strain on the system. Turning up the thermostat, turning off devices in the evening, only using lights in the room you’re in, doing dishes and laundry in the morning and turning off sprinklers during these hours can help reduce energy consumption, the company says.

“The potential impacts of the heatwave are intensified this year due to drought and a shortage of regional transmission connections outside our system to move energy where it’s needed,” the release said. “Conserving energy during these hours of highest demand, and when solar power is fading, can help prevent reliability issues due to the region-wide strain on the grid.”

Idaho Power hopes to build two transmission-line projects in the next several years to expand connectivity between power producers and customers, Richins said. The Boardman to Hemingway project would further connect Idaho to the Pacific Northwest, while Gateway West would hook up wind energy in Wyoming with Idaho. Richins said the Pacific Northwest project is expected to be operational in 2026.

But for now, the company must use the existing infrastructure it has.

During Idaho’s peak energy season, in the summer, Richins said the state imports energy from the Pacific Northwest. Much of that energy — and the company’s in-state power production — comes from hydroelectric power generation, which accounted for over 40% of Idaho Power’s energy source in 2020, according to the company’s website.

But snowpack has been declining for years, which is an indicator of climate change. The reduction in water flows means that dams can produce less electricity. Only a couple of years ago, Richins said hydropower accounted for around 50% of the company’s energy production.

And as a severe drought continues to dry out much of the western U.S., hydropower production may continue to decrease.

“When you start to have less water, you produce less electricity, and that’s when we start to look a little bit more towards other resources,” Richins said.

In 2020, 12% of Idaho Power’s energy came from natural gas, and 21% came from coal, according to the company.

“We keep the lights on 99.96% of the time, but there’s always the possibility of service interruptions during these tight times,” Richins said. “We’re just making sure we’re prepared for it.”