Capital Program Planning for Utah Electric Utilities

by | Oct 21, 2026

Utah · Electric & Grid Utilities

Utah wants to double its power in ten years. Your capital plan is where that happens.

Operation Gigawatt, AI data centers, and a large-load law are stacking gigawatts of new demand onto a grid where roughly two-thirds of today's plants retire within 20 years. Coal is converting to gas and hydrogen, transmission is being rebuilt, and nuclear is back on the table. Each of those forces reshuffles the projects on your list. Invizion helps electric utilities re-sequence a capital portfolio in a click — and defend every decision.

See how Invizion helps utilities See what Utah utilities face Download the briefing (PDF)
The bottom line: Utah has decided to double its power in ten years while roughly two-thirds of its plants retire, coal converts to gas and hydrogen, and data centers arrive under a new large-load law. The utilities that keep the lights on will be the ones whose capital plans can re-sequence as fast as the load forecast changes.
2×1
Utah's goal under Operation Gigawatt: double reliable energy production within 10 years.1
67%1
Share of Utah's generating plants set to go offline within 20 years — only ~16% replaced with equivalent baseload.1
$2B2
Rocky Mountain Power's Utah investment pathway in its 2026 rate settlement.2
1,900 MW3
Intermountain coal retired in 2025, replaced by an 840 MW gas-and-hydrogen plant (IPP Renewed).3

The Utah Landscape

Four forces are moving your project list at once

None of these is theoretical, and none of them waits for your next budget cycle. Together they mean the capital plan you approved last year may already be the wrong plan.

Demand — Load Growth

A state deciding to double its power

Utah's Operation Gigawatt sets a goal of doubling reliable energy production within 10 years, driven by population growth, electrification, and energy-intensive data centers and AI.1

The state's 2025 large-load law (SB 132) opened the door to that demand: in early 2026 Rocky Mountain Power reached Utah's first major data-center agreement under the statute, structured so the new customer fully covers its cost of service.4 Every large new customer is a capacity commitment competing for the same capital.

Reliability — Retiring Fleet

The baseload is leaving faster than it's replaced

About 67% of Utah's generating plants are expected to go offline within 20 years, and only roughly 16% of that retiring baseload is slated to be replaced with equivalent resources.1

Utah still leans on coal as its primary fuel — the state generated about 35.1 million MWh in 2024 — so the reliability margin now depends on replacement projects, gas conversions, and storage landing on schedule.56

Generation — The Transition

Coal out; gas, hydrogen, and nuclear in

The 1,900 MW Intermountain coal plant retired in 2025 and was replaced by the 840 MW, $865 million IPP Renewed combined-cycle plant designed to burn a 30% green-hydrogen blend rising toward 100% by 2045.3

PacifiCorp's 2025 IRP adds roughly 17,700 MW of new generation system-wide — about 5,900 MW solar, 3,800 MW wind, 7,500 MW storage, and a 500 MW Natrium nuclear demonstration targeted for 2031 — while Utah pursues advanced-nuclear research at the San Rafael Energy Lab in Emery County.67

Capital — Grid & Hardening

Rebuild the backbone, harden the edge

PacifiCorp's Energy Gateway program plans more than 2,300 miles of new high-voltage transmission at an estimated cost above $8 billion, with $5.4 billion spent through 2024.8 The 732-mile, 3,000 MW TransWest Express HVDC line running from Wyoming through Utah to Nevada began construction in 2023.9

On top of growth, Rocky Mountain Power is committing a $2 billion Utah investment pathway and expanding wildfire mitigation — more than 300 weather stations and Public Safety Power Shutoff protocols across its territory.210

Who Runs Utah's Grid

One large investor-owned utility, plus deep public power

Utah is unusual: a single investor-owned utility carries most of the load, while dozens of municipal utilities, rural cooperatives, and public wholesale agencies own significant generation and transmission. The pressures are shared; the accountability path differs.

Investor-owned utility

Rates & capital recovery regulated by the Utah PSC

Rocky Mountain Power (PacifiCorp) 1.2M+ customers across UT/WY/ID; serves most of Utah's load11

Rocky Mountain Power — a division of PacifiCorp — is Utah's only major investor-owned electric utility, and its 2026 settlement charts a $2 billion Utah investment pathway.2

Public power & cooperatives

Governed by boards & members, not PSC rates

Intermountain Power Agency (IPP) Public wholesale generation; 1,900 MW coal retired 2025 → 840 MW IPP Renewed3
UAMPS Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems · 50 member utilities, 7 states12
Murray City Power & UMPA Municipal utilities (Provo, Bountiful, Logan, St. George and others)
Dixie Power 35,000+ meters · southern Utah & northern Arizona coop13

Rate-Setting & Oversight

Every capital dollar has to be defensible

Whether you answer to the Public Service Commission or a city council or member board, the question is the same: why this project, why now, why at this cost?

  • Utah Public Service Commission regulates Rocky Mountain Power's rates, capital recovery, and resource plans; municipal utilities and cooperatives set their own rates through boards and councils.
  • RMP's 2026 rate settlement pairs a $93 million (4.2%) general increase with an energy-charge cut for a ~6.4% net bill decrease, plus a commitment not to file another general case with rates effective through 2028 — a defined window of stability, and a defined window to plan against.2
  • Senate Bill 132 (2025), Utah's large-load law, lets utilities serve data centers under terms that shield existing customers; RMP's first agreement under it closed in early 2026 with the new load covering its full cost of service.4
  • Public power sits outside PSC rate cases. IPP, UAMPS, and municipal utilities make capital decisions through their own boards and participants — often in front of the customers who pay for them.312

Funding On The Table

The money is moving — can your plan absorb it?

Utah utilities have more grid and generation capital in motion than they've had in a generation. The constraint is readiness: which projects qualify, which are shovel-ready, and how the timing lines up.

  • IPP Renewed: $504M DOE loan guarantee toward the $865 million, 840 MW gas-and-hydrogen replacement for the retired Intermountain coal plant.3
  • Energy Gateway: $8B+ program for 2,300+ miles of new transmission, with $5.4 billion already spent through 2024.8
  • TransWest Express: 732-mile, 3,000 MW HVDC line under construction since 2023, moving Wyoming wind through Utah to the desert Southwest (~20,000 GWh/year).9
  • A cautionary case: UAMPS' Carbon Free Power Project (NuScale SMR) was cancelled in 2023 after estimated costs rose to $9.3 billion and target power hit $89/MWh — even after $232 million in DOE support. Cost and schedule discipline decide which projects survive.14
  • RMP's $2B Utah investment pathway in the 2026 settlement funds generation, grid, and hardening — new obligations that stack on top of the existing backlog.2

Where Invizion Fits

Turn Utah's grid build-out into a defensible capital plan

Invizion is scenario-based capital portfolio optimization built for utilities. When load forecasts jump, a grant lands, or a retirement date moves, you don't re-plan by hand for weeks — you model it and decide with a record to stand behind.

1

Model the “what-if” before it's forced on you

A data-center interconnect, a delayed transmission line, a moved retirement date — build the scenario and see the impact on the whole portfolio, side by side with today's plan.

2

Re-sequence 500 projects in a click

When priorities move, Invizion re-orders the portfolio automatically — accelerating, stretching, or deferring projects against the constraints you set, not weeks of spreadsheet surgery.

3

Give regulators or your board a defensible record

Every prioritization and trade-off is captured. When you're asked “why this project, why now,” the answer is documented — not reconstructed after the fact.

Utah's Grid, In Brief

Questions Utah utility leaders are asking

Short, sourced answers — the same facts we dig into with utilities looking at their capital programs.

How fast is Utah's electricity demand growing?
Utah's Operation Gigawatt targets doubling reliable energy production within 10 years, driven by population, electrification, and data-center and AI load; the state's 2025 large-load law enabled Rocky Mountain Power's first major data-center agreement in early 2026.14
What's happening to Utah's coal plants?
The 1,900 MW Intermountain coal plant retired in 2025 and was replaced by the 840 MW IPP Renewed gas-and-hydrogen plant; more broadly, about 67% of Utah's generating plants are expected offline within 20 years, with only ~16% replaced by equivalent baseload.31
Is Utah pursuing nuclear power?
Yes — though carefully. UAMPS' NuScale small-modular-reactor project was cancelled in 2023 on cost, while PacifiCorp's 2025 IRP includes a 500 MW Natrium nuclear demonstration targeted for 2031 and Utah funds advanced-nuclear research at the San Rafael Energy Lab.1467
Who sets my utility's rates?
The Utah Public Service Commission regulates Rocky Mountain Power; its 2026 settlement lands a ~6.4% net bill decrease and holds base rates stable through 2028. Municipal utilities and cooperatives set their own rates through boards and councils.2
What major transmission is Utah building?
PacifiCorp's Energy Gateway program plans 2,300+ miles of new high-voltage line at over $8 billion, and the 732-mile, 3,000 MW TransWest Express HVDC line runs from Wyoming through Utah to Nevada.89
How does Invizion help Utah electric utilities plan capital?
Invizion is scenario-based capital portfolio optimization for utilities. It lets you model how a data-center load surge, a coal-to-gas conversion, a transmission in-service slip, or a new rate settlement reshuffles your whole project list, re-sequence the portfolio automatically, and keep a defensible record of every decision for the Public Service Commission or your board.

Go Deeper

Related from Invizion

Demo

See Invizion in Action

A 3-minute look at scenario optimization on a 500-project portfolio.

Learn more → Insights

Capital planning insights

Why rating agencies score your CIP, and what a defensible capital plan looks like.

Read the insights → By State

Electric Utilities briefings

What utilities face state by state — supply, funding, compliance, and rate scrutiny.

Browse the briefings →

About the Author

GB

Guy Barlow

President, Invizion

Guy Barlow leads Invizion, a capital lifecycle management platform for water and wastewater utilities. He has spent two decades at the intersection of utility capital programs, funding, and analytics, helping utilities make faster, more defensible capital decisions.

Explore Further

See how utilities keep capital plans defensible

Invizion helps utilities model, optimize, and defend their capital programs. Explore how it works, or read our latest thinking on capital planning across the utility sector.

Explore Invizion

This briefing was last reviewed September 2026.

Sources

  1. Utah Office of Energy Development — Operation Gigawatt: doubling reliable energy production in 10 years; ~67% of plants offline within 20 years; ~16% baseload replacement; data centers up to ~9% of U.S. electricity by 2030. energy.utah.gov
  2. Rocky Mountain Power — Utah rate settlement: $2B Utah investment pathway, $93M (4.2%) general increase, ~6.4% net bill decrease, rate stability through 2028, June 30, 2026. www.rockymountainpower.net
  3. Intermountain Power Project / IPP Renewed — 1,900 MW coal retired 2025; 840 MW combined cycle, $865M, 30% green hydrogen rising to 100% by 2045; $504M DOE loan. en.wikipedia.org
  4. Rocky Mountain Power — Operation Gigawatt large-load agreement under Utah SB 132 (2025); data center covers full cost of service, February 4, 2026. www.rockymountainpower.net
  5. U.S. Energy Information Administration — Utah State Electricity Profile: net generation ~35.1M MWh, capacity 10,277 MW, avg. retail price 9.97¢/kWh, coal primary fuel, 2024 (released Nov 2025). www.eia.gov
  6. PacifiCorp — 2025 Integrated Resource Plan, Volume I: ~17,700 MW new generation (5,912 MW solar, 3,782 MW wind, 7,524 MW storage, 500 MW Natrium nuclear online 2031, 562 MW coal-to-gas conversions); data-center load sensitivity 2027–2033. www.pacificorp.com
  7. Utah Office of Energy Development — Nuclear: San Rafael Energy Lab (Emery County) advanced-nuclear research; University of Utah nuclear program. energy.utah.gov
  8. PacifiCorp — Energy Gateway Transmission Expansion: 2,300+ miles planned, $8B+ estimated cost, $5.4B spent through Dec 31, 2024; Utah segments Sigurd–Red Butte and Aeolus–Mona/Clover. www.pacificorp.com
  9. TransWest Express Transmission Project — 732 miles, 3,000 MW HVDC plus 1,500 MW AC, Sinclair WY–Delta UT–southern Nevada, construction began fall 2023, ~20,000 GWh/year. www.transwestexpress.net
  10. Rocky Mountain Power — wildfire preparedness across the Intermountain West: 300+ weather stations, enhanced safety settings, Public Safety Power Shutoff protocols, 2026. www.rockymountainpower.net
  11. Rocky Mountain Power — company overview: 1.2M+ customers across Utah, Wyoming, and Idaho; a division of PacifiCorp. www.rockymountainpower.net
  12. UAMPS (Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems) — 50 member utilities across 7 states. www.uamps.com
  13. Dixie Power — 35,000+ meters in southern Utah and northern Arizona; cooperative founded 1946. www.dixiepower.com
  14. NuScale Power / Carbon Free Power Project — UAMPS SMR project cancelled November 2023; 462 MWe design, cost rose to $9.3B and ~$89/MWh, $232M DOE support. en.wikipedia.org