NEW Report: Rocky Mountain Power’s Parent Company, PacifiCorp, Lags in Clean Energy Transition

WYOMING — Today, Sierra Club released its fifth annual Dirty Truth Report, which grades 75 utilities across the country on their plans to retire coal plants by 2030, not build new gas plants through 2035, and transition to clean energy through 2035. This year, PacifiCorp received a C. In an interactive webpage, users can see their utility’s score and what progress, if any, the utility has made toward transitioning to cleaner, more affordable energy since the first version of the report in 2021. 

Important to note is PacifiCorp’s grade is based on its entire system, including Rocky Mountain Power in the east (covering parts of Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho) and Pacific Power in the west (covering parts of Oregon, Washington, and California). When reviewed separately, Rocky Mountain Power received a D (31 out of 100) and Pacific Power received a B (63 out of 100). Pacific Power boosts PacifiCorp’s overall score because it operates in states that require utilities to phase out fossil fuels and transition to clean energy like solar, wind, and batteries. PacifiCorp’s plans for its Oregon and Washington customers project more progress in its clean energy transition and PacifiCorp has initiated processes to procure clean resources for these states, but only because it is legally mandated to do so.

By contrast, Rocky Mountain Power has backtracked on retirement dates for some of the dirtiest coal plants in the country. In its latest energy plan, the utility proposed to burn coal indefinitely at the majority of its coal plants, including the Hunter and Huntington coal plants in Utah and Dave Johnston Unit 4, Naughton Unit 2, and Wyodak coal plants in Wyoming. With most of PacifiCorp’s coal plants forecasted to operate without a retirement date, Utahns, Wyomingites, and Idahoans are facing the consequences of a grid powered by expensive, polluting fossil fuels, and electricity bills are increasing faster than inflation.

Earlier this year, Sierra Club released a report based on PacifiCorp’s own proposal that showed investments in renewable energy could create thousands of long-term, good-paying jobs while boosting economic activity and generating critical tax revenue for communities in Utah and Wyoming.

“Rocky Mountain Power is nearly failing in this report, but already failing the people of Wyoming,” said Emma Jones, Climate and Energy organizer for the Sierra Club in Wyoming. “Year after year, Rocky Mountain Power ignores what would be in our state’s best interest and continues to bet on risky fossil fuels. We’re paying a billionaire-owned utility for the soaring cost of coal, when they should be investing in clean energy that would lower bills and bring family-sustaining jobs to our communities.” 

Faced with rapidly increasing load projections, utility companies are failing to meet this critical moment by championing renewable energy—instead, they are backsliding on their commitments and doubling down on fossil fuels. Across all 75 utilities, the companies scored an aggregate of 15 out of 100 points, earning an F. This marks the lowest score since the first year of this report in 2021, and the first time the score has ever dropped below the inaugural report. 

“It is alarming that for the first time since 2021, utilities are regressing on their clean energy transition,” said Sierra Club Chief Program Officer Holly Bender. “By adding more gas and keeping costly coal plants online, utility companies are ignoring renewable energy—the cheapest form of energy—and forcing their customers to pay more. As energy costs rise and extreme weather becomes more frequent, now is the time to phase out polluting, volatile, expensive fossil fuels and invest in stable, reliable, and affordable clean energy.”