Building Utah

This is Derek Miller Speaking on Business. Consistent, reliable, and affordable electricity is essential in today’s wired economy. In the past much of Utah’s power came from traditional sources, but times are changing and Gary Hoogeveen, President and CEO of Rocky Mountain Power, tells us about the developments now underway. GARY HOOGEVEEN It’s an exciting time at Rocky Mountain Power as we continue to increase renewable energy generation and move to a more sustainable electrical grid. We recently announced the completion of a sweeping initiative that more than doubled our wind production, making PacifiCorp the largest regulated utility owner of wind power in the West.  Using 2005 as a baseline, our latest long-range plan will achieve a 74 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a 98 percent reduction by 2050. We are currently negotiating contracts for 1,200 megawatts of solar, along with 680 megawatts of installed battery capacity, which will be built in rural Utah. Our plan also incl