Lower Power Plants

Lower Power Plants – Survival and Rebirth

Despite the impacts of the Great Depression, demand for electricity in Idaho Falls grew in the 1930’s. Eight years after building the Upper Plant, city leaders reached a deal to purchase the Lower Plant from Utah Power and Light. The city upgraded the plant, and by 1940, it added 3,300 kilowatts to the city’s hydropower portfolio.

The Old Lower Plant was the utility’s only generator to survive the Teton Dam Flood in 1976. As part of the reconstruction effort, the city rebuilt the Upper and City Plants and added a second generating plant next to the original Lower Plant. The new plant uses a bulb turbine design.

The Old Lower Plant underwent a $7.2 million renovation starting in 2014 that included two new turbines. The original generators were refurbished and put back into service to deliver electricity for another 60 years. The project was part of an ongoing effort to modernize the city’s electric grid. The plant went back online in 2016.