OTEC to buy Idaho Power Oregon service area, affecting Union County

Oregon Trail Electric Cooperative (OTEC) agreed to assume ownership and operation of Idaho Power’s Oregon distribution service area for a base purchase price of $154 million, the companies said in a joint press release; if approved, roughly 20,000 residential, irrigation, commercial and industrial customers in eastern Oregon would transfer to OTEC, expanding the cooperative’s footprint in Baker, Union, Grant and Harney counties.

Les Penning, OTEC’s chief executive officer, framed the move as operationally straightforward, saying, “The integration of this service territory is a natural fit for our existing operations.” Penning added the existing transmission interconnection between the two utilities will continue and emphasized OTEC’s mission to deliver “safe, reliable, and competitively priced power” as the cooperative takes on new member-owners.

Idaho Power president and CEO Lisa Grow said the transaction lets Idaho Power “focus funding, infrastructure investments, and our workforce on Idaho’s growing population and energy demand.” Grow noted Oregon “represents a small share of our business — projected to be less than 3% of total sales by 2030,” and described the agreement as reflecting “Idaho Power’s and OTEC’s shared commitment to meeting the needs of eastern Oregon communities.”

OTEC’s FAQ and press material include several operational assurances aimed at customers in Union County and neighboring areas. The cooperative states “current members will not experience changes to their rates as a result of the acquisition,” and that OTEC and Idaho Power “deliver top tier reliability.” OTEC also says its existing service centers and employees are geographically close to the Idaho Power Oregon operations and that it will open a new office and service center in Ontario and hire employees there to provide response, maintenance, reliability and community support.

The joint release clarifies Idaho Power will reduce its retail distribution territory to Idaho while continuing to operate power generation and transmission infrastructure in Oregon; the companies said the proposed sale is subject to state and federal approvals. The press materials provided no specific regulatory timeline, no named agencies, and no estimated close date for the transaction.

Local reaction surfaced quickly on OTEC’s Facebook announcement, which showed 86 reactions, 66 comments and 55 shares in the captured post. Commenters raised questions about emergency response and staffing: Jake Roy asked, “Does OTEC have the capacity to respond to fires and down power lines as well as Idaho Power did? I have pictures of IP employees fighting fires. How many dedicated employees does OTEC plan to hire to service far eastern Oregon?” Nancy Landreth Rorick wrote, “Why were co op members not informed of this decision in advance of the agreement? What are costs and benefits for members?” Other sampled comments included Joel Waters asking, “Is it because Oregon makes Idaho power pay their share of taxes?” and Christy Nichols asking, “How many people will you employ to cover your new service area? Will you be building a yard in this area?”

Next steps hinge on regulatory approvals; if state and federal regulators clear the transaction, OTEC plans to expand local operations in Ontario and integrate roughly 20,000 former Idaho Power accounts into its cooperative membership, while Idaho Power will retain generation and transmission operations in Oregon and concentrate retail service on Idaho.