SALT LAKE CITY — Rocky Mountain Power filed a revised energy plan with state regulators, backing off of plans to shutter a pair of coal plants in southeastern Utah.
The move has disappointed environmental groups, who said it is a "tremendous setback" in efforts to combat climate change by continuing to prop up declining fossil fuels. Rocky Mountain Power's "Integrated Resource Plan," submitted to Utah's Public Service Commission on Monday, now calls for coal-fired plants in southeastern Utah to remain open until at least 2042.
"The energy economy right now is moving so fast, we have to be as nimble as we possibly can to respond to changes in both customer needs, regulatory restrictions, the pace of technology," said David Eskelsen, a spokesperson for Rocky Mountain Power.
Part of the reason the Hunter and Huntington plants will remain going is recent court rulings on federal environmental regulations. Where Rocky Mountain Power originally slated both plants for closure in 2032, Hunter will close in 2036 and Huntington in 2042.
"That would present a real reliability risk for our customers. It would be practically impossible to do the kinds of changes, to install the kinds of replacement resources to comply with that plan before it took effect," said Eskelsen.
Rocky Mountain Power is also dropping plans for now to expand small-scale nuclear energy experiments into Utah at both of those plants, replacing coal. The electric company currently has an experiment underway in Kemmerer, Wyoming at a retired coal plant there.
"Those additional sites are no longer in our long range plan because we don’t know enough yet," Eskelsen said.
Environmental groups were frustrated by the updated plan on Tuesday. The environmental group O2 Utah, accused Rocky Mountain Power of putting "profits over people."
"Our legislature and power companies know the damage of fossil fuels, specifically coal, yet they willingly pollute our airshed and damage the health of Utahns. Although PacifiCorp has the nerve to display solar and wind on their IRP cover, it's blatant lip service and greenwashing as they double down on dirty fossil fuels and walk back their environmental commitments," the group said.
"We're excited about existing programs like the Community Renewable Energy Program to achieve net-100% renewable energy, and we'll continue to pressure lawmakers and PacifiCorp to prioritize our air quality and health over their bottom line."
The Healthy Environmental Alliance of Utah, which has historically opposed nuclear energy, said it did support many aspects of Rocky Mountain Power's former plan — including a focus on renewable energy sources.
"When we talk about nuclear, part of our opposition is frankly that lack of reality both in terms of timeline and cost, it’s basically one of the most expensive power sources that we could possibly be building," said Lexi Tuddenham, HEAL Utah's executive director.
Tuddenham said she believes this combined with recent bills passed by the Utah State Legislature that support a continued reliance on coal will impact communities and ratepayers and not address problems facing the state as a result of climate change.
"We think it’s really unfortunate that at the end of the day, our legislators, our power company are choosing their interests over those of the ratepayers who rely on them for reliable, clean, safe and affordable energy," she told FOX 13 News.
Rocky Mountain Power insisted that it maintains a vast energy portfolio that includes renewable energy sources like solar and wind power.
"We run this resource planning to try to come up with the best mix of resources and the price that customers pay is a part of that. The fact that here in Utah we enjoy some of the lowest rates in the country is testament to the success of that planning process," Eskelsen said.
Tuddenham said she urged people to speak to their lawmakers and weigh in on public comment periods about upcoming plans to get more communities on 100% net renewable energy portfolios. Numerous communities like Salt Lake City, Ogden, Park City, Cottonwood Heights and Moab are on plans to be on 100% renewable energy sources by 2030.
Rocky Mountain Power has said this revised plan will not impact those communities' goals, given the vast energy portfolio it has.
"It’s hard to say definitively whether this will hamper Salt Lake City’s ambitious 2030 timeline for net-100% renewable electricity because there are many variables," Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall's office said in a statement. "Rocky Mountain Power’s slowdown in clean energy development will likely leave a bigger gap for our Utah Renewable Communities Program to fill, but it makes that program more important than ever for Utahns who want clean energy."
Read Rocky Mountain Power's new plan here:
