IDACORP Raises Profit Floor as Rate Benefits Accelerate
The utility lifted the bottom of its 2026 earnings forecast to $6.30 a share.
IDACORP Inc. (IDA), the Idaho electric-utility holding company, posted second-quarter net income of $102.6 million, up 7.1% from a year earlier, as higher rates strengthened results.
The benefit from retail revenue per megawatt-hour accelerated to $27.5 million from $18.0 million in the first quarter, reflecting an Idaho base-rate increase that took effect in January. Idaho Power's year-over-year operating-income gain widened to $30.5 million from $26.2 million in the preceding quarter.
Diluted earnings rose 1.7% to $1.79 a share from $1.76 as diluted shares outstanding increased 5.2% to 57.2 million. Sequentially, net income climbed from $68.0 million and earnings advanced from $1.21 a share. For the first half, net income increased 9.7% to $170.6 million, while earnings rose 4.5% to $3.00 a share.
Customer growth held at 2.3%, or about 15,000 customers, though its operating-income contribution eased to $4.5 million. Usage per retail customer reduced operating income by $0.1 million, a marked improvement from the first quarter's $10.7 million drag, as higher irrigation demand mostly offset a 2% decline in residential usage.
Large-contract-customer revenue added $6.5 million to quarterly operating income, driven by higher usage, increased base rates and a new contract effective June 1. Other operating revenues and expenses contributed another $6.3 million, reversing a $5.6 million drag a year earlier as unrecoverable net power-supply costs and Idaho property taxes declined.
Higher costs absorbed part of those gains. Other operations and maintenance expense increased $11.7 million, including amortization of deferred Jim Bridger conversion and wildfire-mitigation costs recovered through rates, while depreciation and amortization rose $5.2 million as plant in service grew.
IDACORP now expects 2026 earnings of $6.30 to $6.45 a share, compared with its previous range of $6.25 to $6.45. The company expects less than $15 million of additional accumulated deferred investment tax-credit amortization, down from less than $30 million, while maintaining its operations-and-maintenance and capital-spending assumptions.
The company also lowered the top of its expected hydropower-generation range to 6.5 million megawatt-hours from 7.0 million. Meanwhile, 250 megawatts of battery capacity entered service in June, adding operating capacity as IDACORP continued a capital program projected at $1.3 billion to $1.5 billion this year.