Idaho Power seeks to sell distribution system to state electric cooperative for $154M

Idaho Power and Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) are jointly requesting permission from the Oregon Public Utility Commission (PUC) to move ownership of Idaho Power’s Oregon distribution system to OTEC, a proposed sale with a base purchase price of $154 million that would close in early 2027.

If approved, Idaho Power said its 20,000 residential, irrigation, commercial, and industrial customers in four Oregon counties would become OTEC member-owners, expanding OTEC’s service territory in the state.

Following the proposed transfer to OTEC, Idaho Power would no longer directly serve Oregon retail electric customers but would continue to own and operate generation and transmission resources in the state, including the Boardman to Hemingway (B2H) transmission line, which provides power to Idaho, Oregon, and across the region.

The agreement includes OTEC purchasing wholesale energy from Idaho Power to serve its new member-owners under a multi-year power supply agreement, according to the companies’ joint May 21 statement.

Former Idaho Power customers in eastern Oregon would continue to receive energy and local service throughout the transition, and as OTEC member-owners, they would gain a voice in their cooperative through board elections and capital credits returned to members and communities.

Idaho Power said it has continued to invest in the safety and reliability of the Oregon distribution system. Capital investments and inflation have increased service costs, and Idaho Power has not raised base rates in Oregon since 2024.

Without the sale, Idaho Power said it would likely need to pursue a general rate increase of at least 17 percent in Oregon to recover these costs.

With the sale, OTEC would need to recover the investment already made in the system and would need to charge former Idaho Power customers approximately 5.7 percent more than their current Idaho Power rates upon transaction approval.

Either path forward requires some rate adjustment to reflect the current cost of service, the statement says.