# Idaho Power PSPS & Standby Generators in Boise | Boise Electrician Experts > Public Safety Power Shutoffs have run 8-16 hours in the Boise area. Who is most exposed, and when a standby generator actually pays. URL: https://boiseelectricianexperts.com/guide/psps-generator-boise/ If you are in the Boise Foothills, southern Ada County or the valley's rural edges, yes — those are the zones Idaho Power has named as most likely to see a Public Safety Power Shutoff, and events have run 8 to 16 hours. In dense Boise on a short feeder, the case is weaker. ## What a PSPS actually is A Public Safety Power Shutoff is Idaho Power deliberately de-energizing lines when high wind combines with dry fuel, to prevent its equipment starting a wildfire. It is a last resort, it is planned, and — unlike a storm outage — you usually get warning. The first time Idaho Power used that authority in the Boise area, **more than 8,000 customers** across the north and east edges of the city lost power. It happened during a heat wave that had topped 99 degrees for a record **17 consecutive days**. Customers were texted an estimated duration of **8 to 16 hours**. Roughly **55,000 customers** received warning notices that morning. This is now a standing operational tool, not a one-off. ## Who is most exposed Idaho Power has identified higher-risk zones based on vegetation, weather patterns, fire history and structure density. The areas named as most likely to see shutoffs: - **The Boise Foothills** - **Southern Ada County** - Rural communities including **Emmett, Homedale and Parma** If you are in Eagle's foothills, on acreage in Kuna or Star, or anywhere the terrain rises, you are more exposed than someone in central Boise. **Customers outside active PSPS areas can still be affected.** During elevated fire risk, Idaho Power increases the sensitivity of protective devices and limits automatic re-energization of tripped lines — which means more outages and longer ones, even without a formal shutoff. ## The winter half of the problem PSPS gets the attention, but winter produces a different failure mode. **Riming** — heavy frozen mist accumulating on conductors — and snow loading put mechanical stress on lines, and restoration in terrain can be access-delayed. A summer PSPS costs you air conditioning and a freezer. A January outage in a house with a heat pump and no wood stove is a different kind of problem. ## When a generator genuinely pays The case is strong if you have: - **A well pump.** A property with no water becomes unlivable far faster than one with no cooling. This is usually the deciding load on acreage. - **No alternative heat source** and a heat pump. - **Medical equipment** that cannot lose power. - **Significant refrigeration** — a chest freezer of game or a wine room. - **A home office** with no tolerance for a lost working day. The case is weaker if you are in a dense Boise neighborhood on a short feeder with gas heat, a gas range and a gas water heater. You will be restored quickly and you can cook and stay warm meanwhile. We would rather tell you that than sell you a generator you do not need. ## What to size it against The honest question is not "run everything" but "run what for how long." **Summer:** air conditioning is the hard load, because a condenser's starting inrush is several times its running current. A generator sized on running watts alone will stall trying to start it. **Winter:** heat pump backup heat is the hard load. Electric resistance strips can draw more than the compressor, and sizing to run them means a much larger machine than sizing to keep the house above freezing on the compressor alone. **Acreage:** the well pump, which has its own substantial starting current. Load management is the middle path: a smaller unit that automatically sheds non-essential loads — water heater, dryer, one HVAC zone — carries a larger house for most of an outage at materially lower cost. ## The safety point that is not optional Never connect a generator to your house through an improvised connection. Backfeeding a de-energized line puts lethal voltage onto conductors that Idaho Power crews are working on — and during a PSPS, crews are actively patrolling lines before re-energizing them. A listed automatic transfer switch makes that physically impossible, and it is why a permitted installation is not just bureaucracy. ## Bottom line If you are in the Foothills, southern Ada County or on rural acreage, PSPS is a predictable, repeating, day-long outage and a standby system pays for itself in events you can plan for. If you are in central Boise on gas appliances, it probably does not. Call 208-856-4826 and we will tell you which one you are. ## FAQ ### How much warning do you get before a PSPS? Idaho Power sends notices in advance — around 55,000 customers received warnings the morning of the first Boise-area event. That advance notice is what makes PSPS different from a storm outage, and it is why preparation is actually possible. ### Will a portable generator do? For a few circuits, through a correctly installed inlet and interlock, yes — and it is much cheaper. What it will not do is start automatically, run a well pump plus HVAC, or work while you are away from the house. Never run one through an improvised connection. ### Does surge protection matter for PSPS? It matters for the restoration. A planned shutoff ends with a controlled re-energization, and every switching operation is an opportunity for a transient. Service-level surge protection is cheap relative to the HVAC control boards and heat pump inverters it protects.