IPP will keep one coal generator operating and the other on standby under new bill

The coal-fired Intermountain Power Plant near Delta, Utah is pictured on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025.

Over the last few years the Utah Legislature has approved bills to keep Intermountain Power Plant’s coal generators open for longer, going against its owners’ plans to move to a cleaner energy project. Last year, lawmakers blocked the 2025 retirement of the fossil fuel units. And this year, they want to ensure that technical issues won’t compromise the plant’s coal energy production.

In November, during the Legislature’s interim session, Rep. Colin Jack, R-St. George, unveiled HB70, a bill that banned the Intermountain Power Agency from disconnecting switchyard equipment from its coal-powered facilities while the agency builds and makes its transition to IPP Renewed, a multibillion-dollar natural gas project originally meant to replace coal power generation. 

Then, there were questions on whether the agency, which is owned by 23 Utah municipalities, would be able to deliver the state’s request while keeping IPP Renewed on track. But, after some tweaks, IPA doesn’t seem totally opposed to the legislation.

Disconnecting the two existing coal plants from the switchyard would mean that “if somebody bought that power plant, they would have nowhere to go with the power and potentially disconnect the station service to the power plant, which would then make the power plant unusable,” Jack said on Friday.

New legislation looks to protect coal power generation as IPA prepares to hand over the reins

After a series of negotiations and a field trip to the plant, Jack changed his bill to specify that IPA should “maintain” the facilities that provide power to ensure continued functionality, as opposed to the past language that forbade the agency from altering, removing, disabling or modifying its equipment.

The House Public Utilities and Energy Committee voted unanimously to recommend that last version. It will now go to the House floor for consideration.

The new version also requires IPA to keep critical switchyard equipment “in a manner that ensures the ability to reactivate at least one of the project entity’s coal-powered electrical generation units,” according to the bill. 

This means that one of the coal units will remain connected, while the other will be put in standby mode to allow the new IPP Renewed generators to use the switchyard space to serve its main client — Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. 

One of the reasons IPA was opposed to leaving its coal units operating past 2025 was because of a federal air quality permit that contemplated the retirement of the units. However, Jack said, through a report the Legislature requested, the state learned that “there is room in the air permit for the two gas plants and one of the two coal plants.”

“And then it gives us time, brings 900 new megawatts into Utah, which have not been in Utah,” he said about the coal load sent to California. “It lives in Utah, but it doesn’t flow into Utah. This would allow it to flow into Utah.”

Cameron Cowan, the general manager for IPA, remained neutral in a public comment during the committee hearing.

“I do appreciate the conversations we’ve had with Rep. Jack. They’ve been very productive. We appreciate him listening to us and hearing our concerns and also trying to find collaborative solutions to address concerns for multiple stakeholders,” Cowan said, “And we look forward to those continued conversations.”