Utah
Biden administration visits Utah to discuss goal of cheap, reliable electricity
Department of Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm traveled to a Rocky Mountain Power substation in South Salt Lake Thursday morning to unveil the Biden administration’s latest efforts to build a more resilient, secure and cleaner electric grid.
“Utah is a powerhouse of a state when it comes to potentially producing, generating clean energy and then getting that energy to move to places where it’s needed and to be able to take energy as well,” Granholm said. Although the scene behind her portrayed a stillness, the tall, tapered-shaped transmission towers actively circulated high-voltage electricity through the taut wires. Granholm says she wants to bolster this grid’s capabilities and connect it to an expanded network in the West.
“Between the geothermal resources that Utah has, the wind and the sun, and now we’ve got all of this commitment to transmission,” she said, hailing the Beehive State as an “instrumental piece of the nation’s infrastructure.”
The biggest challenge to the already overextended grids across the U.S. has been a lengthy permitting process. Grid congestion cost consumers $20.8 billion in 2023, a significant increase from $13.3 billion the previous year, as reported by Grid Strategies in 2023.
Granholm’s visit coincided with the Biden administration’s decision to reform the permitting rule that will shrink the approval time for a transmission line from 10 years to two by consolidating the requirements from different federal agencies and streamlining the review process.
“We want to make transmission better,” said Granholm. This means enhancing technology while adding new lines, wires and miles to the grid. “But all of that requires cooperation with the federal government and that means permitting.”
She said ger department is focused on connecting more communities to power, taking a page out of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s book. He is hailed for championing the Rural Electrification Act, responsible for providing federal loans to establish an electrical distribution system in the 1930s.
Granholm told the story of a man from this era who wanted to have power in his home but lived outside this distribution wire’s reach. “He did what anybody reasonably would do; He built a new foundation down the road, put his house on logs and just rolled it over to the transmission,” she said jokingly. “Now, we want to do it a little bit differently.”
The energy secretary also announced a series of grants while breaking down the Biden administration’s approach to improving the power system in the Western U.S.
For Utah, specifically, Rocky Mountain Power is receiving $5.7 million to ensure the state has “resilient power” and the “ability to protect against wildfire or extreme weather events,” she said.
Granholm told reporters this will help utility companies install underground transmission lines and cover their conductors, “and that’s what Rocky Mountain Power is doing” as it considers reducing risk while wildfires rise in intensity and frequency.
Joel Ferry, the executive director of the Utah Department of Natural Resources, noted utility companies will also be able to protect themselves against cyber threats by leveraging advanced technologies.
On the state level, the administration is propelling an interconnected web of power lines that allow electrons generated from wind and solar energy to flow from Idaho and Nevada to Utah and California.
“It’s all coming together,” she said, before diving into three transmission line projects moving power across six Western states.
The grid deployment office’s Transmission Facilitation program has $2.5 billion to disperse to developers for setting up new power lines.
The federal government reached a $330 million agreement with Cross-Tie Transmission to connect power from Utah and Nevada, Granholm said.
“We’re particularly excited because that’s going to strengthen the Utah power grid and make sure that you can access resources from all over the West,” Maria Robinson, the director of the grid deployment office told reporters.
This 214-mile line, set to go into service in 2028, will create 4,000 jobs in the Beehive State, and all workers will have to be a part of a labor union, the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, for this more than $1 billion project, she added.
Ed Rihn, president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Canada, said this project’s construction is expected to generate $760 million for the local economy.
Another $331 million is going toward the Southwest Intertie Project North, bridging power between Idaho and Nevada through a 285-mile line. According to a press release, this will add more than 2,000 megawatts to the grid’s capability and power 2.5 million homes.
Ashley McGeary, the communications director for Grid United, the developer for Southline, told the Deseret News after Granholm’s remarks that transmission lines “cost a lot to construct when they cover so much (area), it can be kind of risky for investors” because a utility company has to get on board to use these lines.
The Department of Energy is “the strongest backer you can ask for,” since it prompts utility companies to sign on to the new lines, she explained.
These transmission lines will connect the Western U.S. and allow electricity to flow wherever needed. “Sometimes it’s so windy in one place, and you want to be able to send that wind elsewhere,” said McGeary.
Ferry, from the Utah Department of Natural Resources, said that the Beehive State doesn’t entirely align with the Biden White House, but that doesn’t take away from the Energy Department’s announcements.
“At the crossroads of the West, Utah is always looking for opportunities. That pioneer spirit exists here in the state of Utah,” said Ferry. “Sometimes the state of Utah and the Biden administration are at odds, but it’s great to be able to come together in terms like this under common goal and common cause.”
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — A man died after he was caught in an avalanche in Big Cottonwood Canyon over the weekend.
A spokesperson for the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Office confirmed on Thursday that Kevin Williams, 57, had died.
He, along with one other person, was hospitalized in critical condition after Saturday’s avalanche in the backcountry.
MORE | Big Cottonwood Canyon Avalanche
In an interview with 2News earlier this week, one of Williams’ close friends, Nate Burbidge, described him as a loving family man.
“Kevin’s an amazing guy. He’s always serving, looking for ways that he can connect with others,” Burbidge said.
A GoFundMe was set up to help support Williams’ family.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
_____
CONTENT WARNING: This report discusses suicide and includes descriptions of audio from 911 calls that some viewers may find disturbing.
LAS VEGAS — Exclusively obtained 911 recordings detail the hours leading up to the discovery of an 11-year-old Utah girl and her mother dead inside a Las Vegas hotel room in an apparent murder-suicide.
Addi Smith and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, lived in West Jordan and had traveled to Nevada for the JAMZ cheerleading competition.
The calls show a growing sense of urgency from family members and coaches, and several hours passing before relatives learned what happened.
MORE | Murder-Suicide
Below is a timeline of the key moments, according to dispatch records. All times are Pacific Time.
10:33 a.m. — Call 1
After Addi and her mother failed to appear at the cheerleading competition, Addi’s father and stepmother called dispatch for a welfare check.
Addi and her mother were staying at the Rio hotel. The father told dispatch that hotel security had already attempted contact.
“Security went up and knocked on the door. There’s no answer or response it doesn’t look like they checked out or anything…”
11:18 a.m. and 11:27 a.m. — Calls 2 and 3
As concern grew, Addi’s coach contacted the police two times within minutes.
“We think the child possibly is in imminent danger…”
11:26 a.m. — Call 4
Addi’s stepmother placed another call to dispatch, expressing escalating concern.
“We are extremely concerned we believe that something might have seriously happened.”
She said that Tawnia’s car was still at the hotel.
Police indicated officers were on the way.
2:26 p.m. — Call 5
Nearly three hours after the initial welfare check request, fire personnel were en route to the scene. It appeared they had been in contact with hotel security.
Fire told police that they were responding to a possible suicide.
“They found a note on the door.”
2:35 p.m. — Call 6
Emergency medical personnel at the scene told police they had located two victims.
“It’s going to be gunshot wound to the head for both patients with notes”
A dispatcher responded:
“Oh my goodness that’s not okay.”
2:36 p.m. — Call 7
Moments later, fire personnel relayed their assessment to law enforcement:
“It’s going to be a murder suicide, a juvenile and a mother.”
2:39 p.m. — Call 8
Unaware of what had been discovered, Addi’s father called dispatch again.
“I’m trying to file a missing persons report for my daughter.”
He repeats the details he knows for the second time.
3:13 p.m. — Call 9
Father and stepmother call again seeking information and continue to press for answers.
“We just need some information. There was a room check done around 3:00 we really don’t know where to start with all of this Can we have them call us back immediately?”
Dispatch responded:
“As soon as there’s a free officer, we’ll have them reach out to you.”
4:05 p.m. — Call 10
More than an hour later, Addi’s father was put in contact with the police on the scene. He pleaded for immediate action.
“I need someone there I need someone there looking in that room”
The officer confirmed that they had officers currently in the room.
Addi’s father asks again what they found, if Addi and her mother are there, and if their things were missing.
The officer, who was not on scene, said he had received limited information.
5:23 p.m. — Call 11
Nearly seven hours after the first welfare check request, Addi’s grandmother contacted police, describing conflicting information circulating within the family.
“Some people are telling us that they were able to get in, and they were not in the hotel room, and other people saying they were not able to get in the hotel room, and we need to know”
She repeated the details of the case. Dispatch said officers will call her back once they have more information.
Around 8:00 p.m. — Press Conference
Later that evening, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police held a news conference confirming that Addi and her mother, Tawnia McGeehan, were found dead inside the hotel room.
The investigation remains ongoing.
______
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — AI glasses could allow you to get answers, snap photos, access audio and take phone calls—and now a proposal moving through the legislature would ban the glasses from Utah school classrooms.
“I think it’s a great idea,” said Kizzy Guyton Murphy, a mother who accompanied her child’s class on a field trip to the state Capitol on Wednesday. “You can’t see inside what the student is looking at, and it’s just grounds for cheating.”
Mom Tristan Davies Seamons also sees trouble with AI glasses.
“I don’t think they should have any more technology in schools than they currently have,” she said.
Her twin daughters, fourth graders Finley and Grayson, don’t have cell phones yet.
“Not until we’re like 14,” said Grayson, adding they do have Chromebooks in school.
2News sent questions to the Utah State Board of Education:
- Does it have reports of students using AI glasses?
- Does it see cheating and privacy as major concerns?
- Does it support a ban from classrooms?
Matt Winters, USBE AI specialist, said the board has not received reports from school districts of students with AI glasses.
“Local Education Agencies (school districts) have local control over these decisions based on current law and code,” said Winters. “The Board has not taken a position on AI glasses.
MORE | Utah State Legislature:
Some districts across the country have reportedly put restrictions on the glasses in schools.
“I think it should be up to the teachers,” said Briauna Later, another mother who is all for preventing cheating, but senses a ban could leave administrators with tired eyes.
“It’s one more thing for the administration to have to keep track of,” said Later.
The proposal, HB 42, passed the House and cleared a Senate committee on Wednesday.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
___
Growing forfeits in soccer because of ineligible players could spur change to CIF bylaw
Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?
How the federal government is painting immigrants as criminals on social media
Newsom staffer who told California reporter to ‘f— off’ is raking in massive taxpayer-funded salary
Walz slams Trump admin for temporarily halting Medicaid funding to Minnesota: ‘Campaign of retribution’
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Did the EU bypass Hungary’s veto on Ukraine’s €90 billion loan?
How the federal government is painting immigrants as criminals on social media
Where Iran’s ballistic missiles can reach — and how close they are to the US
Has India’s influence in Afghanistan grown under the Taliban?
Bill Clinton to testify before House committee investigating Epstein links
-
World2 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts2 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Oklahoma1 week agoWildfires rage in Oklahoma as thousands urged to evacuate a small city
-
Denver, CO2 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology7 days agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology7 days agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making