-
Wyoming lawmakers tabled an interim bill that would have shaped the future of wildfires and electricity companies, and in turn your electric bill. The bill would have let utilities off the hook for some liabilities if they made a wildfire mitigation plan. The discussion was booted until next summer over concerns and confusion.
-
Now that the legislative session is over, lawmakers are meeting periodically to discuss what issues they need to address next session. A growing theme is the coal industry’s hardships, with big asks from the industry itself and grim updates from utilities that currently depend on the energy source.
-
Several bills that made it out of the session attempt to protect Wyomingites from the rising costs of electricity.
-
A controversial bill that would have increased fees on rooftop solar users died in the House Travel, Recreation, Wildlife and Cultural Resources Committee.Tensions were high – with more than 20 people joining the committee meeting on Feb. 16 to testify against Senate File 92. Of the eight that actually got a chance to speak, they only had two minutes each. Meanwhile, the four in support all testified and had three minutes, per the rules set by Chairwoman Sandy Newsome (R-Cody) at the beginning of the testimony.
-
The Wyoming Senate recently passed a bill that supporters hope will save two Wyoming coal plants from closure, but some say it will ultimately be costly to Wyoming ratepayers.Senate File 142 is 36 pages long and it took senate lawmakers multiple committee meetings and many hours to deliberate. In essence, the bill makes it more difficult for public utilities to close their coal plants, and it further pushes utilities to install carbon capture technology to keep the plants active. Some see carbon capture as a way to meet climate goals, while still using coal.
-
Wyoming state law requires public utilities to make a plan for using carbon capture to produce some of their energy, and state utility regulators are still figuring out how to do that.
-
In North Dakota’s Bakken oilfield, demand for electricity has skyrocketed – unlike much of the rest of country, where demand been flat since the…