Rocky Mountain Power and its owner PacifiCorp are pushing a 20-year plan for our energy future that’s a true monstrosity and guaranteed to cost ratepayers more money. Like Dr. Frankenstein’s monster, the 2025 Integrated Resource Plan for Utah is stitched together with outdated, zombie coal plants. The monster’s carbonized brain is programmed to say “all of the above,” while attacking cheaper renewable energy projects like solar, wind, and geothermal. RMP’s plan also touts nuclear power, but delays and continued uncertainty provide a convenient cover for its coal monster to keep causing trouble.
The latest Lazard research on energy costs shows that renewables are cheaper than coal. But while PacifiCorp invests in affordable clean energy in other states, it chooses to forego billions in federal clean energy savings in Utah. RMP and PacifiCorp would keep us locked into increasingly unaffordable coal power. If Utahns remain silent, this means more rate increases, higher utility bills, and missed opportunities for clean air and renewable energy for our families and businesses.
We can speak up. On Oct. 29, the Utah Public Service Commission has scheduled a public hearing in Salt Lake City on the 2025 IRP. Rocky Mountain Power customers can tell the PSC that the IRP is unrealistic, unaffordable, and unfair. Commissioners should require the utility to serve its Utah customers, not a fossil fueled monster.
Kathryn Kair, Sandy