Fall River Electric Backs a New Natural Gas Plant, Citing Maxed-Out Hydropower

Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative is backing a new natural gas plant in northern Idaho, joining a wholesale-power project it says is meant to keep electricity reliable and affordable as the Northwest's hydropower runs short.

The co-op announced the partnership through PNGC Power, the generation-and-transmission cooperative that supplies Fall River and two dozen other Northwest utilities. Fall River delivers electricity to members but does not generate its own, buying power wholesale through PNGC, so a stake in a new plant is how it plans for future supply. The co-op serves more than 16,000 members in eastern Idaho, southwest Montana, and western Wyoming, including Driggs, Tetonia, Felt, and Alta.

Fall River and PNGC describe the natural gas plant as among the most efficient and lowest-emitting facilities in the region, built on turbine technology they say generates more electricity from less fuel than older plants. The companies also point to a longer-term possibility of blending in hydrogen, up to 50 percent, though they tie that to how the fuel supply and supporting infrastructure develop. The co-op did not disclose the plant's exact location, its generating capacity, its cost, or when it would come online.

Chief executive Bryan Case said the co-op is planning for a tighter regional power supply. "The hydropower capacity of the Northwest has been fully allocated," Case said. "Our members need power they can count on at prices they can afford." The co-op said it set this direction more than three years ago, pointing to recent storms, extreme temperatures, and reduced hydropower as signs the grid needs sources that hold up in hard conditions.

PNGC Power, owned by 25 distribution cooperatives across seven western states, is coordinating the project for its members. "This project reflects the responsibility we have to plan ahead for the long term," said Jessica Matlock, PNGC's chief executive.

Fall River, a nonprofit owned by its customers, last drew local notice in June, when members returned two incumbents and added a new director to its board. What the gas project will mean for member rates, and when, the co-op has not yet said.

Sources

• Fall River Rural Electric Cooperative
• PNGC Power
• Fall River Electric board election returns two incumbents, adds McLean