PacifiCorp

The parent company Rocky Mountain Power is asking the U.S. District Court to overturn the Wyoming Public Service Commissioners’ decision in January to only approve a part of the company’s proposed electricity rate increases. The commission rejected part of the increase that would have helped pay for things like higher fuel costs to the company and rising insurance costs partly due to wildfires linked to their infrastructure.

The largest electricity provider in Wyoming is proposing rate hikes to customers again. Rocky Mountain Power, a division of the six-state utility PacifiCorp, is asking the state to approve an average of a 12.3 percent hike to its 144,511 Wyoming customers’ bills.

Rocky Mountain Power serves about 144,000 customers in the state – it’s the largest public utility in Wyoming. And earlier this year it requested two rate hikes to its customers – one of which has been partially approved by the Wyoming Public Service Commission, the state entity in charge of regulating utilities. Dustin Bleizeffer is an energy reporter for WyoFile and has followed the issue closely. He spoke with Wyoming Public Radio’s Caitlin Tan about what this all means.

It’s official – those who get their electricity from Rocky Mountain Power will see an increase starting in January. While it's not as high as initially thought, the final numbers still have to be calculated.

Wyoming’s largest power company is shifting toward renewables and away from coal; however, the state is still planning a future that includes fossil fuels.

Customers of Rocky Mountain Power can expect their utility rates to go up in February. The Wyoming Public Service Commission (WPSC) approved the utility’s 0.3 percent rate hike.

One of Wyoming’s main electricity providers says following state law could come at a huge cost to customers.Pacificorp, also known as Rocky Mountain Power, recently testified to the Wyoming Public Service Commission regarding a 2020 state law that requires public utilities to begin incorporating some carbon capture technology at their coal-fired plants. Some see carbon capture as a way to meet climate goals, while still using coal.

Final approval was given to move forward with a 416-mile power line that will transfer Wyoming’s renewable electricity across the West.The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) gave PacifiCorp the ‘OK’ last week, to proceed with construction on the Energy Gateway South transmission line. The intention is for the line to carry wind energy from wind farms in Medicine Bow to central Utah.

The agreement between the State of Wyoming and PacifiCorp will keep a unit of the Jim Bridger Power Plant online past the previous closure deadline of Apr. 30, which has been signed by Gordon. Carbon capture technologies may also lengthen the lifespan of the facility, which has been operating for over 50 years.

Several companies interested in making money through carbon capture are taking steps to set up shop at the Dave Johnston Power Plant in Glenrock,…