PacifiCorp is an electric power company in the northwestern United States.
PacifiCorp has three primary subsidiaries:
Since 2006, PacifiCorp has been a wholly owned subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, itself an affiliate of Berkshire Hathaway. In 2001, PacifiCorp was purchased by Scottish Power, but later sold to MidAmerican.
PacifiCorp is currently headquartered in the Lloyd Center Tower[1] at 825 N.E. Multnomah Street, Portland, Oregon, in the Lloyd District. Pacific Power is also headquartered in the same building. Rocky Mountain Power and PacifiCorp Energy are headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power combined serve over 1.4 million residential customers, 202,000 commercial customers, and 34,000 industrial and irrigation customers - for a total of approximately 1,668,000 customers. The service area is 136,000 square miles (350,000 km2). Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power own and maintain 15,622 miles (25,141 km) of long distance transmission lines, 43,850 miles (70,570 km) of overhead distribution lines, 14,510 miles (23,350 km) of underground distribution lines, and 900 substations.
In 1977, PacifiCorp spun off its coal mining interests into a mining company known as NERCO, which was eventually listed on the New York Stock Exchange and ranked as high as 353 on the Fortune 500 list of the largest American companies. Through its majority interest in NERCO, PacifiCorp was involved in the mining of coal, oil, natural gas, gold, silver, and uranium. PacifiCorp still owned 82% of NERCO in 1993, when it was acquired by the mining giant, the Rio Tinto Group[2].
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PacifiCorp was formed from the 1987 merger of Utah Power & Light Company (later known as Utah Power) of Salt Lake City, Utah and PacifiCorp of Portland, Oregon. PacifiCorp was the holding company for the Pacific Power & Light Company (later known as Pacific Power), which served customers in Oregon, Washington, California, and Wyoming. Utah Power & Light served customers in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming.
After the merger both Utah Power & Light and Pacific Power & Light operated as divisions of PacifiCorp. After July 2006, PacifiCorp was reorganized into two new regulated utility operating divisions; Pacific Power and Rocky Mountain Power. Pacific Power kept the original Pacific Power & Light territory, with the exception of eastern and central Wyoming. Rocky Mountain Power's territory included that of the former Utah Power & Light, with the addition of the former Pacific Power & Light territory of central and eastern Wyoming.[3]
Pacific Power serves customers in Washington, Oregon and California. 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.[4]
Rocky Mountain Power serves customers in Idaho, Utah, and Wyoming.
Major cities served include:
Idaho
Ammon, Lava Hot Springs, Malad City, Montpelier, Preston, Rigby, Saint Anthony, Shelley
Utah
Rocky Mountain Power serves most major cities in Utah, with the following exceptions:
Bountiful, Eagle Mountain, Kaysville, Lehi, Provo, Murray, Logan
Wyoming
Buffalo, Casper, Cody, Douglas, Evanston, Green River, Kemmerer, Lander, Laramie, Rawlins, Riverton, Rock Springs, Thermopolis
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.
Utah Power and Light (UP&L) was organized on 6 September 1912 as a 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.
Pacific Power & Light was formed in 1910 from the merger of several financially troubled utilities in Oregon and Washington. In 1954, Pacific Power & Light merged with the Mountain 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 [5]
PacifiCorp Energy was created after the purchase of PacifiCorp by MidAmerican Energy Holdings. PacifiCorp Energy owns, maintains and operates the PacifiCorp generation assets and manages the commercial and trading operations of the company. PacifiCorp Energy 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 wind sources. 22.5% of PacifiCorp Energy's generation is purchased from other suppliers or under contracts.
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 | 700.0 | |
| Lake Side | Lindon, Utah | Natural Gas | 545.0 | |
| Currant Creek | Mona, Utah | Natural Gas | 540.0 | |
| Hermiston | Hermiston, Oregon | Natural Gas | 540.0 | |
| Chehalis | Chehalis, Washington | Natural Gas | 540.0 | |
| Cholla | Joseph, Arizona | Coal | 380.0 | |
| Gadsby | Salt Lake City, Utah | Natural Gas | 355.0 | |
| Wyodak | Wyoming | Coal | 268.0 | |
| Carbon | Helper, Utah | Coal | 172.0 | |
| Craig (partial owner) | Craig, Colorado | Coal | 165.0 | |
| Colstrip (partial owner) | Colstrip, Montana | Coal | 148.0 | |
| Hayden (partial owner) | Colorado | Coal | 78.1 | |
| Little Mountain | Great Salt Lake, Utah | Natural Gas | 14.0 |
| Name | Net Capacity (MW) |
|---|---|
| Lewis River | 578.2 |
| North Umpqua River | 199.9 |
| Klamath River | 163.8 |
| Bear River | 103.9 |
| Prospect (Rogue River) | 36.0 |
| (30 minor projects) | 78.3 |
| 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 | 32.6 |
| Blundell | Geothermal | 23.0 |
| Goodnoe Hills | Wind | 94 |
| Marengo I | Wind | 140.4 |
| Marengo II | Wind | 70.2 |
| Glenrock | Wind | 99 |
| Seven Mile Hill | Wind | 99 |
| Seven Mile Hill II | Wind | 19.5 |
| Rolling Hills | Wind | 99 |
| Glenrock III | Wind | 39 |
PacifiCorp Energy 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 owns and operates the Deer Creek Mine in Utah, near the Huntington Plant and has a partial interest in the Trapper Mine in Colorado.
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