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In-person · Pocatello, IDElectrical safety training in Pocatello, ID
Pocatello makes fertilizer from southeast Idaho phosphate, runs a semiconductor fab with 57,000 square feet of cleanroom, and builds power transformers on a plant floor that OSHA fined nearly $1 million in 2025. We train the electrical crews who keep Pocatello's plants running, at your facility or in an in-person class we set up in Pocatello when you ask.
Private employers in Idaho are inspected by federal OSHA. Every class is live, on the 2027 edition of NFPA 70E, and taught by a Certified Safety Professional. Idaho electrical safety training requirements →
Among the teams we have trained in the last year
Four ways to train your Pocatello crew
Crews we train in and around Pocatello: fertilizer and chemical, semiconductor, electrical equipment manufacturing, food manufacturing, rail, university and public employers.
What the class covers for Pocatello crews
Fertilizer plants are hard on enclosures, terminations and protective devices. We cover how equipment condition and maintenance affect arc flash risk and when an old study no longer matches the gear.
A fab that changes owners or product lines often changes tool power and facility systems too. We cover verifying drawings, labels and sources before work on equipment that may have been modified.
Transformer plants test units at high voltage and move them with overhead cranes. We cover test area boundaries and who may enter them, and how crane electrical faults become shock hazards.
The 2025 Virginia Transformer case shows OSHA following up on hazards found earlier. We help employers turn training into a written program that tracks corrective actions.
Pocatello at a glance
Federal OSHA (Boise Area Office); MSHA at phosphate mines
Idaho Power; Rocky Mountain Power in parts of southeast Idaho
DOPL, statewide
PIH (Pocatello Regional)
Mountain
Idaho: what applies to your crews
Enforcement: federal OSHA and MSHA
Idaho has no state plan, so Pocatello plants answer to the federal OSHA Boise Area Office and phosphate mines answer to MSHA. Bannock County, the city, ISU and school district workers have no OSHA coverage as public employees.
Licensing: DOPL
The Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses issues statewide apprentice, journeyman and master electrician licenses under rules from the Idaho Electrical Board. Licensing covers installation, and the employer still decides who is qualified for energized work.
Where NFPA 70E fits
OSHA does not enforce NFPA 70E, a consensus standard published by NFPA. Pocatello plants use it to show how they meet OSHA 1910 Subpart S and 1926 Subpart K, and OSHA can use the General Duty Clause for recognized electrical hazards.
Pocatello's electrical work environment
J.R. Simplot's Don Plant marked 80 years in December 2024. It was the company's first fertilizer plant and employs more than 400 people, processing phosphate ore that starts at Simplot's Smoky Canyon mine in southeast Idaho. Fertilizer production means chemical process equipment, large pumps and motors, and electrical rooms exposed to corrosive conditions.
Pocatello also has a semiconductor history. Onsemi sold one of its two Pocatello fabs to LA Semiconductor in 2022 and announced in June 2024 that it would close the other. The LA Semiconductor fab employs more than 150 people on a 31-acre campus with about 57,000 square feet of cleanroom and makes chips at 0.18 to 1.5 micron geometries. In January 2026 the company said a sale process through Macquarie was under way but not final.
Virginia Transformer builds power transformers in Pocatello. After a June 2025 inspection, OSHA proposed $986,888 in penalties for 53 serious and repeat violations, including machine guarding, falls, missing PPE and overhead cranes with faulty brakes and switches. Amy's Kitchen, Idaho State University, Portneuf Medical Center and Idaho Central Credit Union are among the city's other large employers, and the Union Pacific junction that built the town still runs through it.
Fertilizer, chips and transformers on the Portneuf
These are Pocatello area plants where electrical crews do the heaviest work.
| Site | What is there | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Don Plant J.R. Simplot Company | Simplot's first fertilizer plant, with more than 400 employees, 80 years old in 2024. | Operating |
| Smoky Canyon mine J.R. Simplot Company | Southeast Idaho phosphate mine that supplies ore to the Don Plant. | Operating |
| Pocatello fab LA Semiconductor | Foundry with 57,000 sq ft of cleanroom and more than 150 employees, offered for sale in 2025. | Operating |
| Transformer plant Virginia Transformer Corp. | Cited by OSHA in December 2025 for 53 serious and repeat violations. | Operating |
| Pocatello food plant Amy's Kitchen | Prepared food plant with 500 to 999 employees. | Operating |
| Pocatello campus Idaho State University | The city's largest employer, with 2,500 to 4,999 workers. | Operating |
| Regional hospital Portneuf Medical Center | Regional hospital with 1,000 to 2,499 employees. | Operating |
Idaho Power, Rocky Mountain Power and plant substations
Idaho Power serves the Pocatello area as the eastern end of a system with 17 hydro plants on the Snake River and its tributaries. Rocky Mountain Power covers much of southeast Idaho beyond it, including Lava Hot Springs, Preston and Montpelier, so contractors who cover the region work with both.
Large plants like these often take power at high voltage and distribute it on their own. That means plant-owned substations, medium voltage switchgear and large motor control centers that plant electricians maintain themselves. Lockout and switching procedures there have to cover the utility interface as well as every internal source.
Who we train in Pocatello and southeast Idaho
Electricians and I&E techs at the Don Plant and other phosphate operations.
Facilities and tool support staff at Pocatello's wafer fab.
Test floor, maintenance and crane crews at transformer and electrical product plants.
Maintenance teams at Amy's Kitchen and food plants across the region.
Shop and yard electricians on the Union Pacific lines that meet in Pocatello.
ISU, city and county facilities electricians, who have no OSHA coverage in Idaho.
Also serving
Questions from Pocatello employers
Our plant got OSHA citations. Can training help us close them out?
Do miners at Smoky Canyon need NFPA 70E training?
We test transformers at high voltage. Is that covered in the class?
We are a Pocatello public employer. Does OSHA cover us?
Does finishing the class make someone a qualified electrical worker?
What the people in the room say
“Virtual can never replace hands-on, but the engagement from our instructor and the class made it feel more engaging than some in-person courses I've taken.”
“Probably one of the most useful safety courses I've ever attended. Rick genuinely cares about people and their well-being.”
“This is the 2nd arc flash training course I've taken and the class was amazing. I feel like I'm leaving the training safer than before I took this class.”
Train your Pocatello crew on the 2027 edition.
Onsite within a few days, or private live virtual as soon as tomorrow. Need it fast? Call (813) 725-0999.