Kootenai Electric joins Rathdrum gas plant project to boost power supply

Kootenai Electric Cooperative has joined a planned natural gas power plant in Rathdrum, a move the utility says is meant to steady future supply and limit pressure on members’ bills as demand keeps climbing across the Pacific Northwest.

The project, announced April 23 by PNGC Power and Kindle Energy, would bring a state-of-the-art combined-cycle facility to Kootenai County. Kootenai Electric said it is a member-owner of PNGC Power and sees the plant as part of a long-term strategy to secure reliable, affordable power for the co-op’s members. Local reporting said the facility is expected to generate about 590 megawatts, a scale that would make it one of the region’s most significant new power resources.

Kootenai Electric said the plant is intended to do more than add capacity. The cooperative described it as one of the most efficient and lowest-emitting gas-fired resources in the country, designed to produce more electricity with less fuel and water than older thermal plants. That matters for a system facing a widening gap between electricity supply and demand, driven by population growth, electrification and the reduced availability of other generation sources.

For Kootenai Electric, the stakes are local as well as regional. The member-owned utility is headquartered in Rathdrum and says it serves more than 30,000 meters over about 2,300 miles of electric line, making it the largest electric cooperative in Idaho. Its headquarters sits on a 44-acre site in Rathdrum, where the co-op says its member base grew by more than 25,000 after moving from Hayden. Building a major generating asset in the same community ties the cooperative’s growth to the county’s future energy needs.

PNGC Power said the project fits a broader reliability push across the Pacific Northwest. In 2024, the cooperative said it had already entered power-supply purchase agreements for 307 megawatts with multiple developers, underscoring a regional effort to lock in firm power before demand tightens further. Idaho Department of Environmental Quality rules will make air-quality permitting a key step before construction can begin on any emitting source.

If the Rathdrum plant moves ahead, the payoff for Kootenai County could be twofold: more dependable electricity when the grid is strained, and a new anchor for the region’s growing industrial and residential load. For members of Kootenai Electric, the decision signals that the utility is betting on local generation to help stabilize service long after today’s demand surge has passed.