Idaho Falls Power recognized nationally for reliability
City of Idaho Falls News
IDAHO FALLS -- Idaho Falls Power received nationwide recognition as one of the most reliable public power utilities.
The American Public Power Association named Idaho Falls Power, a municipal utility, among the top quarter of public power utilities with the 2024 Certificate of Excellence in Reliability. The certificate recognizes Idaho Falls Power’s exceptionally reliable service and power to their customers' businesses and homes.
“At Idaho Falls Power, we understand the importance of reliable electricity in our daily lives, and we strive to ensure that our customers have access to the energy they need,” said Idaho Falls Power General Manager Bear Prairie. “This recognition is of the dedicated team who is committed to maintaining our community’s power system and also quickly restoring power during outages, day or night, no matter the conditions.”
To calculate the top-performing public power utilities, APPA looks at the average total duration of outages (in hours) experienced by a customer averaged out over five years. Among the utilities that had the lowest duration of outages, Idaho Falls Power is the only public power utility in the Gem State to receive the 2024 Certificate of Excellence in Reliability.
“Year after year, data consistently demonstrates that public power utilities provide highly reliable service,” said APPA Director of Research and Development Paul Zummo. “The utilities recognized here are truly elite when it comes to keeping the lights on. Their communities should be proud of the hard work and dedication of their local power providers as they earn this truly deserved recognition.”
Nationwide, the average public power customer has their lights out for less than half the amount of time that customers of other types of utilities do.
Idaho Falls Power is one of the oldest public power communities in the Pacific Northwest. The utility is able to keep its heritage of providing affordable and reliable power through five city-owned hydroelectric projects that, on average, provide about one-third of the electricity used in the city. Idaho Falls Power also focuses on well-maintained infrastructure with strategic long-range planning with the City Council and Mayor.
To keep Idaho Falls Power at the forefront of reliable and affordable energy, the utility is currently building a new power generation facility north of town. Once completed later this year, the plant will provide on-demand energy at times when summer and winter power usage are at their highest. As the community has continued to grow, so has the demand for electricity during peak periods. This growth has left the utility more dependent on purchasing high-cost electricity from the wholesale power market during these peak hours.
As Idaho Falls has invested in its own energy production, residential customers currently pay around 7 cents per kilowatt hour, which is half the national average of 14 cents per kilowatt hour.
For more information on Idaho Falls Power and its commitment to reliability, visit www.ifpower.org
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Media Contact: City of Idaho Falls Public Information Officer Eric Grossarth at (208) 612-8562 or egrossarth@idahofalls.gov