Idaho Power updates status of long-range planning process

IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (KIFI) - Idaho Power experts will discuss preliminary modeling results for its long-range plan at a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 15.

Idaho Power and an advisory panel representing customer groups and regulators have met several times over the past year to discuss the utility’s next 20-year energy plan.

The purpose of the 2023 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) is to predict how much energy the company will need to serve its growing number of customers and identify the best way to ensure that energy remains reliable, affordable and clean. Idaho Power develops a new plan every two years.

Idaho Power enlists the help of its customers to create the IRP through the IRP Advisory Council (IRPAC), which includes representatives from public-interest groups, industry and agriculture, as well as state and local lawmakers, public utility commission staff and other interested parties. The panel meets monthly to discuss energy demand and resource options.

The next meeting will provide an update on the company’s analysis of its resource options and preliminary results from its computer modeling. The company uses advanced modeling software to evaluate a wide range of potential resources and how those may impact reliability, costs, emissions and other factors in various situations over the next two decades.

Background information and a link for attending via Webex, are available at idahopower.com/irp. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. Mountain Time.