Tell Wyoming Public Service Commission to protect our economic future

Take Action: The Wyoming Public Service Commission is taking public comments on our energy future, and they need to hear from you today.

Rocky Mountain Power, Wyoming's largest utility and owner of many coal plants, has determined it would be cheaper for Wyoming residents to retire several old coal plants and replace them with clean energy and battery storage, saving families and local small businesses millions of dollars and helping build a clean energy future for Wyoming.

But instead of planning ahead for our future, some legislators oppose Rocky Mountain Power’s plans to increase renewable energy in Wyoming, and are pressuring the Public Service Commission to find ways to keep these coal plants running. Keeping these plants running would hurt families and small businesses who are already facing hardships during this economic downturn.

While we’re all struggling with the COVID epidemic, it is more important than ever for Wyoming to find ways to reduce economic burdens on residents and small local businesses. Unfortunately, our state government is continuing to cling to old, expensive coal plants, no matter how much it ends up costing Wyoming families and small businesses.

Take action now: These old coal plants are WAY more expensive than alternatives like wind and solar. Keeping them running puts Wyoming electric customers and the state at risk of wasting a lot of money that could be better spent on transitioning to a clean energy future.

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Comment on RMP IRP Investigation

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Dear Commissioners Fornstrom, Throne, and Robinson; As a Wyoming resident, I am concerned about your investigation into the Integrated Resource Plan that PacifiCorp submitted last fall for Rocky Mountain Power's service in Wyoming. I ask you, as a Public Service commissioner, to ensure that Rocky Mountain Power (and every other regulated utility in Wyoming) uses power sources that will provide the least-cost reliable energy for Wyoming customers into the future. Rocky Mountain Power’s plan clearly showed that some of their older coal-fired power plants in Wyoming are no longer the most economical source for electricity, and that they can provide reliable energy that is significantly less expensive by shutting down certain power plants and replacing them with renewable energy and battery storage. The Integrated Resource Plan submitted by Rocky Mountain Power, including closure of these coal plants, will save Wyoming families and small businesses across the state hundreds of millions of dollars. Given the dire economic situation facing all of Wyoming, from changing energy markets and the COVID pandemic, preventing a utility from offering their customers the least expensive power that is reliable and available would be an even worse idea than it was a couple of months ago. Rocky Mountain Power has committed to substantial measures to help their coal plant employees through controlled plant closures, including continued employment during and after shut down, college retraining in fields of the employees' choice, for those who want it, and protecting worker pensions and health care benefits. These measures will help coal-dependant communities get through the energy transformation that we are facing. Utilities can and should be doing even more to help fund the economic transition in impacted communities, and the PSC should continue to pressure Rocky Mountain Power for more community assistance. But it's critical not to saddle all the utility's customers, families and small businesses across the state, with substantially and permanently higher electricity rates during the economic and energy transformation ahead. Thank you for seriously considering my comments as you complete this investigation.