Under the agreement, BYU-I will sell the output of its gas- and oil-fueled generating facility on its Rexburg campus to PacifiCorp, which does business as Rocky Mountain Power in eastern Idaho. The plant provides space and water heating to the campus, but also has a companion heat-recovery generating system that can generate up to 5.6 megawatts of electricity.

Idaho Housing and Finance Association releases its 2015 findings from the annual Idaho homeless Point-in-Time Count, which took place this past January 28, 2015. The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development requires an annual count of sheltered individuals and a biennial count of unsheltered individuals in order to receive federal funding to aid the homeless. Idaho Housing and Finance Association works with service providers and volunteers around the state to coordinate and conduct the annual count

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson today protected Idaho priorities in the House Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for FY16. The bill, which sets out the budget for the Department of the Interior, the Forest Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), was marked up by the full House Appropriations Committee

In its order approving the transaction, the Idaho Public Utilities Commission said the swap, which will replace outdated sharing agreements between the utilities, will better serve the utilities and their transmission and retail customers

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson supported final passage of the Fiscal Year 2016 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations bill, which passed the House 216 -210 late last night.  The bill includes Simpson’s language increasing truck weights on Idaho Interstate Highways to 129,000 pounds.

U.S. Senators Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Claire McCaskill (D-Missouri) today led a bipartisan group of senators in introducing legislation that would eliminate a costly and redundant U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulation affecting pesticide users. The Sensible Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) seeks to clarify congressional intent concerning federal regulation of pesticides and codify longstanding interpretation of regulatory statutes after a 2009 court ruling imposed an additional layer of needless red tape on food producers

Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter came away from a meeting with members of competing water user organizations encouraged and pleased by the progress of their negotiations to resolve a dispute over water drawn from the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer

Rates for residential customers of Idaho Power Company decrease slightly on June 1 due to annual updates of two rate adjustments approved by the Idaho Public Utilities Commission.

Until recently, the Caldwell plant was under a tariff rate (rather than a special contract) for Large Power Service customers. But Simplot’s new Caldwell plant, which replaces Simplot facilities in Aberdeen, Nampa and Caldwell, is anticipated to exceed the maximum amount of demand – 20,000 kilowatts – that qualifies for the Large Power Service rate. Customers with demand larger than 20,000 kW must negotiate a special contract with the utility

Idaho Power Company is asking state regulators to determine that $33.5 million of company investment in energy efficiency and demand-response programs during 2014 was prudently incurred. The application does not impact rates. The Idaho Public Utilities Commission is taking public comment on Idaho Power’s application through June 24.

U.S. Senators Dean Heller, Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Jim Risch (R-ID), and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced the Public Lands Renewable Energy Development Act. The bipartisan legislation simplifies the permitting process for solar, geothermal and wind projects on public lands. Following introduction, the senators offered these statements

Idaho Power maintains it can operate a program at less cost and with better or equal results than has the third-party vendor that has been operating the program since 2009. The “Flex Peak” program, previously operated by EnerNoc Inc., provided financial incentive to large commercial and industrial customers to curtail their energy use during peak-use hours of the summer months.

A measure forcing the Obama Administration to withdraw its “waters of the United States” rule cleared the House Tuesday on a bipartisan 261-155 vote.

Idaho Congressman Mike Simpson supported passage of legislation to rein in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) attempts to take control of state waters last night. H.R. 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015, would require the EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to withdraw the controversial proposed rule expanding the definition of “waters of the United States” and develop a new rule after consultation with state and local governments and interested parties

Nesset has extensive experience in the areas of finance, economic development and legislative issues. He is senior vice president, financial advisor, and branch manager for D.A. Davidson in Lewiston, Idaho. Nesset has been with D.A. Davidson Companies since 1981 and held the title branch manager since 1986