 | |
 Headquarters inPortland, Oregon | |
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Electric power industry |
| Founded | 1910; 115 years ago (1910) |
| Headquarters | Lloyd Center Tower Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
Area served | |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 5,000 |
| Parent | Berkshire Hathaway Energy |
| Subsidiaries |
|
| Website | pacificorp.com |
| Footnotes / references [1][2] | |
PacifiCorp is anelectric power company based in theLloyd Center Tower inPortland, Oregon with operations in the westernUnited States.[3]
PacifiCorp has two business units:Pacific Power, a regulated electric utility with service territory throughout Oregon, northern California, and southeastern Washington headquartered inPortland, Oregon; andRocky Mountain Power, a regulated electric utility with service territory throughoutUtah,Wyoming, and southeastern Idaho, headquartered inSalt Lake City, Utah. PacifiCorp operates one of the largest privately held transmission systems in the U.S. within the western Energy Imbalance Market.[4]
Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power combined serve over 1.6 million residential customers, 202,000 commercial customers, and 37,000 industrial and irrigation customers, for a total of approximately 1,813,000 customers. The service area is 143,000 square miles (370,000 km2). The company owns and maintains 16,500 miles (26,600 km) of long-distance transmission lines, 64,000 miles (103,000 km) of distribution lines, and 900 substations.
PacifiCorp owns, maintains and operates generation assets and manages the commercial and trading operations of the company. PacifiCorp owns 68 generating plants with a capacity of 9,140 megawatts. 70.6% of the generation is from thermal sources (i.e., coal or natural gas), 6.7% from hydroelectric sources, and 0.2% from renewable sources. 22.5% of PacifiCorp's generation is purchased from other suppliers or under contracts.
The company is planning on keeping only 3 of its 22coal-fired power stations operational beyond 2040 and is planning to source 56% of its yearly consumption withrenewable energy by 2040.[5]
Pacific Power & Light was formed in 1910 from the merger of several financially troubled utilities in Oregon and Washington to form thePacific Power & Light Company.[2] It gradually expanded its reach to include most of Oregon, as well as portions of California, Washington and Wyoming. In 1984, it reorganized itself as a holding company, PacifiCorp, headquartered in Portland with Pacific Power as its main subsidiary.
Utah Power and Light (UP&L) was organized on 6 September 1912 from the merger of four electric companies in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming and was aSalt Lake City subsidiary of a large holding company,Electric Bond and Share Company (EBASCO) of New York. Within four years of its organization, UP&L had purchased twenty-seven other electric companies in the general Utah area, and eventually absorbed more than one hundred thirty. In 1881, one of those companies had made Salt Lake City the fifth city in the world withcentral station electricity.
In 1954, Pacific Power & Light merged with theMountain States Power Company, essentially doubling the company's service area. In 1961, the company purchased the California Oregon Power Company, extending its service into southern Oregon and northern California.[6]
In 1977, PacifiCorp spun off its coal mining interests into a mining company known asNERCO, which was eventually listed on theNew York Stock Exchange and ranked as high as 353 on theFortune 500 list of the largest American companies. Through its majority interest in NERCO, PacifiCorp was involved in themining of coal, oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and uranium. PacifiCorp still owned 82% of NERCO in 1993, when it was acquired by the mining giantRio Tinto Group.[7]
In August 1987, PacifiCorp agreed to acquire Utah Power & Light.[8] The merger was completed in January 1989.[9]
In 2001, PacifiCorp was acquired byScottish Power.[10]
In 2006, PacifiCorp was acquired byBerkshire Hathaway Energy, a division ofBerkshire Hathaway, for $5.1 billion in cash.[11]
In a July 2006 reorganization, Pacific Power's territory in central and eastern Wyoming was merged with the Utah Power territory to form Rocky Mountain Power.[12][13]
In these tables of generation properties owned or partially-owned by PacifiCorp, total capacity is 10,556MW. Of this, 56% is coal, 24% is natural gas, 10% is hydroelectric, and 10% is renewable.
Major generation facilities include:
| Plant Name | Location | Fuel | Net Capacity (MW) | Online Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Bridger (Two-thirds owner) | Point of Rocks, WY | Coal | 1,413.4 | |
| Hunter | Castle Dale, Utah | Coal | 1,112.4 | 1977 |
| Huntington | Huntington, Utah | Coal | 895.0 | 1973 |
| Dave Johnston | Wyoming | Coal | 762.0 | |
| Naughton | Kemmerer, Wyoming | Coal | 357.0 | |
| Naughton | Kemmerer, Wyoming | Natural Gas | 247.0 | |
| Lake Side | Lindon, Utah | Natural Gas | 1,203.0 | 2007/2014 |
| Currant Creek | Mona, Utah | Natural Gas | 540.0 | |
| Hermiston | Hermiston, Oregon | Natural Gas | 540.0 | |
| Chehalis | Chehalis, Washington | Natural Gas | 540.0 | |
| Cholla | Joseph City, Arizona | Coal | 0 | |
| Gadsby | Salt Lake City, Utah | Natural Gas | 355.0 | |
| Wyodak | Wyoming | Coal | 268.0 | |
| Craig (partial owner) | Craig, Colorado | Coal | 165.0 | |
| Colstrip (partial owner) | Colstrip, Montana | Coal | 148.0 | |
| Hayden (partial owner) | Colorado | Coal | 78.1 | |
| Total Coal | 5,579 | |||
| Total Gas | 3,265 | |||
| TOTAL | 8,844 |
| Name | Net Capacity (MW) |
|---|---|
| Lewis River | 578.2 |
| North Umpqua Hydroelectric Project | 199.9 |
| Klamath River Hydroelectric Project | 163.8 |
| Bear River | 103.9 |
| Prospect (Rogue River) | 36.0 |
| (30 minor projects) | 78.3 |
| TOTAL | 1160 |
| Name | Type | Net Capacity (MW) |
|---|---|---|
| Leaning Juniper I | Wind | 100.5 |
| Wolverine Creek | Wind | 64.5 |
| Rock River I | Wind | 50.0 |
| Combine Hills | Wind | 41.0 |
| Foote Creek | Wind | 41.1 |
| Blundell | Geothermal | 33.0 |
| Goodnoe Hills | Wind | 94 |
| Marengo I | Wind | 156 |
| Marengo II | Wind | 78 |
| Glenrock | Wind | 138 |
| Seven Mile Hill | Wind | 99 |
| Seven Mile Hill II | Wind | 19.5 |
| Rolling Hills | Wind | 99 |
| Glenrock III | Wind | 39 |
| High Plains | Wind | 99 |
| McFadden Ridge | Wind | 28.8 |
| Dunlap | Wind | 111 |
| Black Cap | Solar | 2 |
| Cedar Springs II | Wind | 200 |
| Ekola Flats | Wind | 250.9 |
| TB Flats I | Wind | 250 |
| TB Flats II | Wind | 250 |
| Total Wind | 2,209.6 | |
| Total Solar | 2 | |
| Total Geothermal | 33 | |
| TOTAL Renewable | 2,244.6 |
PacifiCorp also owns and operates several captive coal mines located at or very near some of its generation plants. In Wyoming, PacifiCorp operates and has partial interest in Jim Bridger Mine and owns the Dave Johnston Mine, which is in final reclamation. The company also owned and operated the Deer Creek Mine in Utah, near the Huntington Plant but closed it in 2015 and has a partial interest in the Trapper Mine in Colorado.
Calling it a "new era of utility involvement in transportation electrification," thePortland Business Journal in 2018 described PacifiCorp's electric vehicle promotion program as a plan that promises new electric vehicle charging sites, outreach and education efforts. The program was spawn from legislation passed in 2016 that called for more renewable energy from the state's utility companies.[14]
As of May 1, 2007, Rocky Mountain Power serves approximately 758,000 customers in Utah, 129,000 customers in Idaho, and 67,000 customers in Wyoming.
In November 2017, Rocky Mountain Power made a deal with Utah's utility authorities to phase outnet metering. The program was paying customers who generated their own electricity with rooftop solar panels the residential rate for their excess energy that got sent back into the energy grid. As of August 2018, new rooftop solar installations were down 23 percent, likely due to the cancellation of the net metering program. New solar customers are paid by a transitional program that pays slightly less than the residential rate until 2033. People who installed solar panels prior to November 2017 are grandfathered at the previous rates until 2035.[15]
Pacific Power serves customers inWashington,Oregon andCalifornia. Major cities served include:
As of December 31, 2009, Pacific Power serves 555,070 customers in Oregon, 126,665 customers in Washington, and 45,148 customers in California.[16]
Rocky Mountain Power serves customers in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming.
Major cities served include:
Ammon,Lava Hot Springs,Malad City,Montpelier,Preston,Rigby,Rexburg,Saint Anthony,Shelley
Rocky Mountain Power serves most major cities in Utah, with the following exceptions:
Bountiful,Kaysville,Lehi,Logan,Provo,Murray,Monroe,Monticello,Springville,St. George
Buffalo,Casper,Cody,Douglas,Evanston,Green River,Kemmerer,Lander,Laramie,Rawlins,Riverton,Rock Springs,Thermopolis
In 2023, a jury ordered PacifiCorp to pay $70 million in punitive damages to 17 homeowners negatively impacted by the2020 Oregon wildfires.[17] In August 2024, PacifiCorp revealed that it faced at least $46 billion in claims resulting from four separateclass action complaints related to the wildfires.[18]
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