"Some customers are waiting for Avista to mitigate the performance issues prior to beginning constructions on their developments."
That sentence comes from Avista's July 2026 application to the Idaho Public Utilities Commission, case AVU-E-26-10. The same page says the two distribution feeders serving the east side of Lake Coeur d'Alene "are at capacity and unable to serve new growth." For anyone weighing a lot or a custom build along the Highway 97 corridor between Gozzer Ranch, Carlin Bay and Harrison, those two sentences matter more than any list price. They say how many more homes the shoreline can power and when that number can go up.
Two Feeders for an Entire Shoreline
The east shore runs on two lines. One starts at the Blue Creek Substation and the other at the existing O'Gara Substation. According to the Coeur d'Alene Press, those two substations serve nearly 3,000 customers.
Avista's answer is the East Coeur d'Alene Lake System Reinforcement project. It adds a new Carlin Bay Substation on South Elk Road, about six miles north of Harrison, rebuilds O'Gara at the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 3, and connects the two with a new 115-kV transmission line. The Press reports the project is expected to serve 1,500 to 3,000 more customers. That means the east shore's electrical capacity could roughly double, but only after the line is energized.
Avista's 2025 business case names the cause directly. "Gozzer Ranch and other housing developments on the east side of Lake CDA continue to drive up loading levels" on the two feeders and have "pushed our existing system to its capacity." Much of the new load sits at the far ends of each feeder, which is where long lines handle demand worst.
What "At Capacity" Means on a January Night
A full feeder shows up as a winter problem. In the 2024 cold snap, the lake-crossing cable carried more than 400 amps for about two hours and peaked at roughly 429 amps. In that situation, Avista says it "will disrupt service to customers to reduce loading" instead of risking damaged equipment and an even longer outage.
Restoring power is slow out there because of cold load pickup. When power returns after an outage, every heater and appliance comes back at once, and that surge can trip fuses and reclosers again. The application describes what happens if the work does not get done:
"The outages could impact several hundred customers for multiple hours and may occur daily until peak winter loading weather conditions pass. Extended outages can last multiple days and be catastrophic, not only from economic loss, but customers may also face additional damage that may be caused by freezing water pipes."
The business case was blunter. If the project was not finished by the winter of 2025, Avista said it would "operate with the risk of turning customer's power off for 4-6 hours daily until heavy winter loading conditions have passed." It also noted that O'Gara has no SCADA system, so operators have no real-time view of it. The winter of 2025 has now passed without the project.
The Forecast for the Next Few Winters
Avista plans its system so equipment runs at no more than about 80 percent of its rating. When equipment nears 100 percent in real time, it says "customers' power will be turned off to prevent damaging equipment."
Compare that 80 percent planning line with the forecast peak loading in the System Impact Study Avista attached to its filing:
| Equipment | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 | 2029 | 2034 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BLU321 feeder, Blue Creek | 81.01% | 89.24% | 96.66% | 103.68% | 151.33% |
| OGA611 feeder, O'Gara | 92.66% | 104.16% | 109.38% | 114.31% | 144.86% |
| O'Gara transformer | 85.68% | 89.27% | 93.34% | 97.54% | 121.85% |
Under that forecast, all three pieces of equipment are over the planning threshold this winter. The O'Gara feeder passes its full rating in 2027, before the new line is scheduled to carry any power. A lot buyer closing this winter is buying into a system that its operator expects to run near or over its limits for at least two more heating seasons.
A Schedule That Keeps Moving
Avista's project page says the company "began to plan for the amount of power needed in the east CDA lake area" about 20 years ago. Its business case set a need-by date, and each schedule Avista has published since has landed later:
| Avista document or report | Stated timing |
|---|---|
| 2025 business case | Need-by date of winter 2025, with daily outage risk if missed |
| Avista project page | Construction Q4 2025 to Q4 2027 |
| July 2026 PUC application | Construction starts 2027, energization late 2028 |
| Coeur d'Alene Press, Oct. 29, 2026 | Line and substation finish sometime in 2029; O'Gara rebuild between 2028 and 2029 |
Line siting was finished in 2023. Easement acquisition started in 2025 and was still underway when the application was filed. The application puts the transmission line alone at about $30 million. The Press reports $45.5 million for the whole project.
Avista's business case lists the alternatives it rejected. Doing nothing cost $0. Converting the distribution system to 25 kV would have cost $75 million. A Carlin Bay substation with a tap near O'Gara, without rebuilding O'Gara, came in at $27.6 million. The company chose Carlin Bay plus an O'Gara rebuild at $44.7 million, partly because that option also deals with the condition of the old O'Gara equipment.
Who Is Waiting for the Line
The business case includes a table of developments Avista knew about, each with Avista's confidence that it will be built and the feeder that would serve it:
- Powderhorn Ranch: up to 1,300 residences, at 25 percent confidence, on the O'Gara feeder
- Gotham Bay: about 50 premium lots, at 100 percent confidence, on Blue Creek
- Patriot Homes: about 40 units, on Blue Creek
- Fish Inn Campground: a campground with cabins and RV spots, on Blue Creek
- Stonegate Development: homes of about 3,000 square feet near Harrison, on Blue Creek
- Carlin Bay Lodge Replacement: at 75 percent confidence, on the O'Gara feeder
Gozzer Ranch is the established project behind much of the load. The Press describes it as a 700-acre resort with 267 homesites, built in 2007 on John W. Gozzer's 1917 homestead. The 25 percent confidence figure is the most useful number on that list. Powderhorn Ranch alone could add almost half again the customers the two substations serve now, so the shoreline's future density depends on one large project that Avista's own planners rate as unlikely. Every lot sold on these feeders before late 2028 adds to the same winter peak.
Where the Case Stands on Nov. 12
Avista is asking the Commission for a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to build the line. It requested an order by Dec. 1, 2026. The Commission's Order No. 37208 extended public comments to Nov. 17 and Avista's reply to Dec. 1, and it notes that the longer schedule rules out a final order by Avista's requested date.
As of the Press's Oct. 29 report, the case had drawn two public comments. One commenter raised concerns about eminent domain, property values near the line, ratepayer bills and public lands. Avista says the route crosses mostly private land with some state and federal land, and that every directly affected property owner has been notified. The line will run on single self-weathering steel poles with a reddish-brown finish, 50 to 105 feet tall and mostly about 2 feet across at the base. Buyers paying for views between O'Gara and Carlin Bay should know that detail.
Avista's DiLuciano told the Press that road closures are expected during construction and that "customers would have some short outage impacts as we switch over to the new feeds."
Questions Buyers Ask About East-Shore Power
Does this affect property in the city of Coeur d'Alene? No. The filing covers only the east side of the lake, served by the Blue Creek and O'Gara feeders.
How does a lot buyer find out whether a parcel can get service? Avista's Electric Service Requirements ask customers to provide accurate load information early so the utility can determine service availability, location and voltage. Avista also requires a signed service agreement and payment before it schedules work.
How can someone comment on the case? Through the Case Comment Form at puc.idaho.gov, using case number AVU-E-26-10, by Nov. 17.
This post is general information, not legal, financial or engineering advice. Confirm service availability, easements and costs for a specific parcel with Avista and the right professionals.
For a lot, a teardown or a new build on the east shore, when power can reach the parcel is now part of the price. Chris's background in land and development shapes how we read a parcel, and with Kate & Chris Neu we can help you check where a parcel sits on Avista's map before you commit. Request a Free Instant Valuation and we'll start there.
