Last month, Rocky Mountain Power, or RMP, shocked state officials by requesting a 30% rate hike over the next two years. It blamed half of the requested increase on the rising cost of coal. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox responded, “The audacity and lack of awareness with this request seriously calls into question management at RMP. I will do everything I can to make sure a rate increase of that magnitude never sees the light of day.”
Cox shouldn’t be shocked. Last spring, the Legislature passed and the governor signed legislation designed to force Rocky Mountain Power to abandon its plans to shift from coal to lower-cost renewables. In my opinion, there is a straight line connecting the governor’s decision to sign that renewables-blocking legislation and RMP’s requested rate hike.
Most of us realize that burning fossil fuels to produce electricity causes far more harm to human health and the environment than using wind and solar….
