A crew works on a transmission line tower outside Boardman in November 2017. The Bonneville Power Administration on Jan. 19, 2022, announced it, Idaho Power and PacifiCorp have a new deal on the Boardman to Hemingway transmission line that will run through Eastern Oregon.

Idaho Power, PacifiCorp and the Bonneville Power Administration have reached a non-binding agreement on the massive Boardman to Hemingway transmission line.

The BPA in a press release Jan. 19, announced the agreement clarifies and updates roles and responsibilities for the B2H project.

“The proposed agreement is an important step for this 500-kilovolt, 290-mile transmission line, which would deliver 1,000 megawatts of reliable, affordable power in each direction between the Pacific Northwest and Mountain west,” according to the press release.

Under the new deal, Idaho Power and PacifiCorp will jointly own the B2H transmission line, with PacifiCorp owning 55% and Idaho Power owning 45%.

Idaho Power will acquire an ownership interest in PacifiCorp transmission lines and other equipment between eastern Idaho and the Four Corners Substation in northwest New Mexico. B2H and those acquisitions amplify Idaho Power’s connections to key energy markets that will help the company meet rapidly growing customer demand.

The Bonneville Power Administration will transfer its ownership interest in B2H to Idaho Power and will not participate in construction or have any ownership interest in the transmission line project.

Facilities PacifiCorp uses to serve BPA’s customers in and around southeast Idaho will be transferred to Idaho Power. BPA will acquire transmission service over Idaho Power’s transmission system, including the newly constructed B2H, to serve public utility customers in Idaho, Wyoming and Montana.

More information about BPA’s effort to serve these customers and its public process to consider the agreement is available in BPA’s letter to the region.

PacifiCorp will acquire Idaho Power transmission assets across southern Idaho that, combined with its majority stake in Boardman-Hemingway, will increase its contiguous power transfer capability between its western and eastern systems, and will acquire additional transmission service from BPA to enable it to serve its growing customer base in central Oregon.

With the non-binding term sheet developed, the three organizations move into a negotiation phase to finalize the agreements and seek regulatory approval. Concurrent with this press release, BPA is issuing a letter to its regional stakeholders and customers that outlines the proposal, describes the background and explains the process for engaging with BPA on this topic.

Construction of the line is to begin in 2023, and B2H is anticipated to come online in 2026.