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Are California climate policies unfair to Utah?

A Utah lawmaker is seeking $2 million to pay for lawsuits challenging the Golden State’s so-called “excise tax” on electricity generated from Utah coal.

(Steve Griffin | Tribune file photo) Utah's largest power plant, the coal-fired Intermountain Power Project near Delta, exports most of its electricity to Southern California. But that state's cap-and-trade policies — aimed at reducing climate-changing carbon dioxide emissions — penalize coal-fired electricity because coal emits twice as much carbon dioxide as natural gas. Although the Utah plant is planning to convert to natural gas, one Utah lawmaker is calling for legal action against California, calling its program an illegal "excise tax" that is killing jobs in Utah.