BOISE, Idaho — Idaho electricity customers can give testimony about the long-proposed Boardman to Hemingway transmission line during hearings that the state Public Utilities Commission plans in mid-June.

The 300-mile, 500-kilovolt line would cross five Oregon counties. It would connect the proposed Longhorn Substation east of Boardman to Idaho Power’s existing Hemingway Substation in Owyhee County, Idaho.

Existing transmission lines between the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain regions are insufficient to carry energy when it is needed most, given population and business growth in both regions, according to Idaho Power.

Idaho Power and PacifiCorp division Rocky Mountain Power have applied for certificates of public convenience and necessity. The certificates would allow the utilities to provide service in a new geographic area, enter into a franchise agreement, build and operate a new facility or extend an existing facility, according to a commission news release.

A hearing on the Rocky Mountain Power application is scheduled at 6 p.m. Monday, June 12, at the Idaho Falls Public Library, 457 W. Broadway St., Idaho Falls.

Two hearings on the Idaho Power application are scheduled June 13. In Pocatello, a hearing is slated to start at 11 a.m. at the state Department of Fish and Game regional office, 1345 Barton Road. In Twin Falls, a hearing is set for 6 p.m. at Twin Falls High School 1615, Filer Ave. East.

On June 14, a hearing in Boise on the Idaho Power application is scheduled at 6 p.m. at the commission, 11331 W. Chinden Blvd., Building 8, Suite 201-A.

Hearings will last for three hours or until all testimony is taken. People who plan to testify must attend the hearings in person, according to the release. Listeners may participate by phone.

The commission wants to hear what the public thinks about the project, “and we welcome the opportunity to talk about it and explain its importance to Idaho Power and all of our customers,” said Sven Berg, an Idaho Power spokesperson. “We see B2H as a crucial piece of our long-term strategy of continuing our tradition of providing reliable, affordable clean energy.”

Hearing-related information is available at 208-334-0300 or secretary@puc.idaho.gov.

In Oregon, the state Energy Facility Siting Council last fall granted Idaho Power a site certificate that authorizes construction of the line. The state Supreme Court March 9 upheld the council’s decision.

Separately, the Oregon Public Utilities Commission is considering an application for a certificate of public convenience and necessity.

The Oregon-based Stop B2H Coalition plans to comment in that case to the effect that the application is not complete, said Jim Kreider, the coalition’s co-chairman.

For example, the application does not include complete information about archaeological, wildlife, flora and fauna, and wetland surveys; final road plans; or a proposed addition of approved acres to the site plan, he said.

Input from Stop B2H has “helped make this a better project,” Idaho Power’s Berg said.

The company continues to conduct analyses of each of these issues as well as cultural impacts, he said.

Some landowners also are concerned about the price that Idaho Power would offer for land once it is condemned, and are concerned that the company would not compensate them for future revenue from agriculture or timber, said Kreider of Stop B2H.

“We have worked diligently with landowners to try to find fair compensation for them, and in many cases have been successful,” Berg said. “We are not trying to cheat any landowners. We want them to support the project, and part of that is giving a fair, responsible offer for the use of their land.”