Annual Report 2023
It’s one thing to talk about the need for climate action, but it’s another thing for states and the utilities they rely on to implement concrete steps necessary to get it done. This is why WRA strategically focuses on resource planning processes, where critical long- and short-term forecasting from each utility identifies exactly how it plans to generate electricity.
Effective resource planning processes can align utility procurement decisions with public policy goals like reducing pollution, while also ensuring reliable and cost-effective service for customers.
Ultimately, we are working to put utilities on a path to reduce emissions at a pace and scale consistent with what the best available climate science tells us is necessary to protect our communities and our economy from the devastating impacts of climate change.
WRA worked tirelessly in 2023 with utilities, regulatory agencies, and lawmakers to drive the transition to clean energy and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Due to WRA’s ongoing work, nearly all of the eight major utilities have goals to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than 2050. A key aspect of our current policy work is ensuring the effective implementation of these goals and that they deliver the intended outcomes.
One of the largest utilities in the Interior West, PacifiCorp, operates in multiple states, including Utah and Wyoming. Despite its stated commitments, PacifiCorp has been reluctant to move away from coal-fired generation and advance renewable energy acquisitions necessary to reach 2050 net-zero goals.
In April 2023, PacifiCorp published a plan that would reduce its greenhouse gas pollution 78% from 2005 levels by 2030, eventually reaching 100% carbon-free resources by 2050. The plan included new wind resources, solar, and energy storage over the next 10 years, and represented an exciting milestone in WRA’s years-long effort to shift PacifiCorp away from coal and other fossil fuels.

WRA supported PacifiCorp’s progress in planning for a low-carbon future while also raising questions about unreasonable and insufficiently vetted modeling assumptions and recommending changes to the process that would facilitate better collaboration with stakeholders.
We worked steadily to drive home the point that renewables and other clean energy technologies are more cost-effective than PacifiCorp’s aging coal plants. We used data gathered from Utah regulatory proceedings to show that the costs of running the Jim Bridger Power Plant in Wyoming, one of the largest in PacifiCorp’s fleet, were much higher than were being conveyed to regulators. Rather than being a low-cost resource, it was one of the most expensive – costing more than cleaner alternatives.
We educated Utah’s Public Service Commission about the real cost of the power plant and recommended PacifiCorp consider retrofitting it to run on natural gas instead of coal – dramatically reducing emissions without extending the life of the plant. This detailed and measured work resulted in PacifiCorp’s 2023 resource plan projecting Jim Bridger would stop burning coal before 2030. It also announced it would retire its two Utah coal plants, Hunter and Huntington, by 2032.
PacifiCorp was on the verge of a clean energy transformation that would benefit Utahn’s health and pocketbooks. Unfortunately, the next year was met with a wave of backlash from legislators. New legislation aimed at slowing the transition away from coal was passed despite WRA’s and partners’ strenuous advocacy. Additionally, PacifiCorp’s 2024 integrated resource plan update drastically scaled back renewable acquisitions and extended the lives of the Hunter and Huntington coal plants.

This decision is a step backwards on clean and reliable energy and ties Utahns to a very risky fuel source. It’s why WRA’s dedication to implementing strong policies is so important. We have to remain diligent to overcome these types of setbacks in the pursuit of durable climate action.
WRA will not give up, and we will not give in.
Our work in Utah shows how critical it is to devote sustained resources to the energy planning process – one of the most important venues for achieving the clean energy transformation necessary to protect our communities and hold utilities accountable to their commitments.
We don’t just push utilities to set science-based goals, our layered approach includes tireless research, analysis, and in-depth stakeholder engagement to show how goals can be achieved in a way that benefits consumers and the environment – and we see things through to ensure full and effective implementation so that the policies and plans for which we advocate achieve their full potential.