Idaho Power leans on hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is a bigger part of the Idaho Power Company energy mix than it is to most other American utilities.

Idaho Power reported Tuesday that hydro accounts for 49.54 percent of the electricity its customers used in 2017. It is also the company’s most cost-effective resource. The average American utility makes hydroelectricity about 7.5 percent of their resource base.

The rest of Idaho Power’s energy needs are met by coal (18.28 percent) and natural gas (8.37 percent). That mix of 26.65 percent of the utility’s energy base compares to a national average of 61.8 percent.

According to Idaho Power, thermal plants are important in helping to maintain reliability, but using them less frequently helped the company reduce its overall carbon dioxide emissions in 2017.