BENEFIT PLANS:

3 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2020

Retirement Benefits, Description [Abstract]

Benefit Plans

BENEFIT PLANS

Idaho Power has a noncontributory defined benefit pension plan (pension plan) and two nonqualified defined benefit plans for certain senior management employees called the Security Plan for Senior Management Employees I and Security Plan for Senior Management Employees II (together, SMSP). Idaho Power also has a nonqualified defined benefit pension plan for directors that was frozen in 2002. Remaining vested benefits from that plan are included with the SMSP in the disclosures below. The benefits under the pension plan are based on years of service and the employee’s final average earnings. Idaho Power also maintains a defined benefit postretirement benefit plan (consisting of health care and death benefits) that covers all employees who were enrolled in the active-employee group plan at the time of retirement as well as their spouses and qualifying dependents. The table below shows the components of net periodic benefit costs for the pension, SMSP, and postretirement benefits plans for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands).

	Pension Plan						SMSP					Postretirement Benefits						Total
	2020			2019			2020		2019			2020			2019			2020			2019
Service cost	$	10,578		$	8,316		$	53	$	(45	)	$	240		$	196		$	10,871		$	8,467
Interest cost	9,988			10,560			1,087		1,145			633			762			11,708			12,467
Expected return on plan assets	(14,089		)	(12,187		)	—		—			(597		)	(557		)	(14,686		)	(12,744		)
Amortization of prior service cost	1			2			73		24			12			12			86			38
Amortization of net loss	4,296			3,302			933		633			—			—			5,229			3,935
Net periodic benefit cost	10,774			9,993			2,146		1,757			288			413			13,208			12,163
Regulatory deferral of net periodic benefit cost(1)	(10,279		)	(9,523		)	—		—			—			—			(10,279		)	(9,523		)
Previously deferred pension costs recognized(1)	4,289			4,289			—		—			—			—			4,289			4,289
Net periodic benefit cost recognized for financial reporting(1)(2)	$	4,784		$	4,759		$	2,146	$	1,757		$	288		$	413		$	7,218		$	6,929

 (1) Net periodic benefit costs for the pension plan are recognized for financial reporting based upon the authorization of each regulatory jurisdiction in which Idaho Power operates. Under IPUC order, the Idaho portion of net periodic benefit cost is recorded as a regulatory asset and is recognized in the income statement as those costs are recovered through rates.

 (2) Of total net periodic benefit cost recognized for financial reporting, $4.3 million and $4.2 million, respectively, were recognized in "Other operations and maintenance" and $3.0 million and $2.7 million, respectively, were recognized in "Other expense, net" on the condensed consolidated statements of income of the companies for the three months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019.

The table below shows the components of net periodic benefit costs for the pension, SMSP, and postretirement benefits plans for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019 (in thousands).

	Pension Plan						SMSP					Postretirement Benefits						Total
	2020			2019			2020		2019			2020			2019			2020			2019
Service cost	$	21,493		$	17,030		$	106	$	(90	)	$	514		$	427		$	22,113		$	17,367
Interest cost	20,006			21,156			2,175		2,288			1,247			1,494			23,428			24,938
Expected return on plan assets	(28,119		)	(24,311		)	—		—			(1,202		)	(1,110		)	(29,321		)	(25,421		)
Amortization of prior service cost	3			3			145		48			24			24			172			75
Amortization of net loss	8,663			6,782			1,867		1,266			—			—			10,530			8,048
Net periodic benefit cost	22,046			20,660			4,293		3,512			583			835			26,922			25,007
Regulatory deferral of net periodic benefit cost(1)	(21,021		)	(19,690		)	—		—			—			—			(21,021		)	(19,690		)
Previously deferred pension costs recognized(1)	8,577			8,577			—		—			—			—			8,577			8,577
Net periodic benefit cost recognized for financial reporting(1)(2)	$	9,602		$	9,547		$	4,293	$	3,512		$	583		$	835		$	14,478		$	13,894

 (1) Net periodic benefit costs for the pension plan are recognized for financial reporting based upon the authorization of each regulatory jurisdiction in which Idaho Power operates. Under IPUC order, the Idaho portion of net periodic benefit cost is recorded as a regulatory asset and is recognized in the income statement as those costs are recovered through rates.

 (2) Of total net periodic benefit cost recognized for financial reporting, $8.5 million and $8.4 million, respectively, were recognized in "Other operations and maintenance" and $5.9 million and $5.5 million, respectively, were recognized in "Other expense, net" on the condensed consolidated statements of income of the companies for the six months ended June 30, 2020 and 2019.

During the six months ended June 30, 2020, Idaho Power made $10 million of contributions to its defined benefit pension plan. In July 2020, Idaho Power contributed an additional $10 million to the plan in a continued effort to balance the regulatory

collection of these expenditures with the amount and timing of contributions and to mitigate the cost of being in an underfunded position. Idaho Power has no further minimum contribution requirement to its defined benefit pension plan in 2020. The primary impact of pension contributions is on the timing of cash flows, as the timing of cost recovery lags behind contributions.

Idaho Power also has an Employee Savings Plan that complies with Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Code and covers substantially all employees. Idaho Power matches specified percentages of employee contributions to the Employee Savings Plan.