PacifiCorp owns and operates 50 hydroelectric plants and serves as the operator for two additional hydroelectric projects. PacifiCorp’s hydro projects have an installed capacity of about 1,073 megawatts (MW), which represents nearly 11 percent of the company’s annual power generation.

Nonfederal hydroelectric projects generally operate under licenses issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). A hydroelectric license includes terms and conditions for project operations, as well as environmental protection, mitigation and enhancement measures to mitigate project impacts on the surrounding environment and natural resources.

At least five years before a license expires, an owner notifies FERC of its intent to seek a new operating license for the hydroelectric project. The project, its surrounding environment and related resources are extensively studied during this process, in consultation with state and federal agencies, tribes, non-governmental organizations and local community interests. The purpose of the licensing process, which can take several years, is to determine what new license conditions will most effectively balance developmental values (electric power, flood control and water supply) with nondevelopmental values (environmental resource protection and values) and best reflect the public interest.

PacifiCorp has received new FERC licenses for its 6 MW Bigfork project (FERC No. 2652) in Montana, the 80 MW Bear River project (FERC No. 20) in southeastern Idaho and the 185 MW North Umpqua River Project (FERC No. 1927) in southern Oregon. PacifiCorp is currently involved in relicensing projects on the North Fork of the Lewis River (Merwin FERC No. 935, Yale FERC No. 2071, Swift No. 1, FERC No. 2111) in southwest Washington and the Klamath River projects (FERC No. 2082) in southern Oregon and northern California, among others. 

PacifiCorp has reached settlement agreements to decommission the American Fork Project (FERC No. 696) in Utah, the Condit Project (FERC No. 2342) on the White Salmon River in Washington and the Powerdale Project (FERC No. 2659) on the Hood River in Oregon. An important part of PacifiCorp's relicensing approach is to ensure that concerns are heard and that information about the process is readily available.