Wyoming

At Rallies in Utah and Wyoming, PacifiCorp Customers Urge the Utility to Pursue Renewables – Inside Climate News

Published

4 months ago

October 31, 2025

At Rallies in Utah and Wyoming, PacifiCorp Customers Urge the Utility to Pursue Renewables – Inside Climate News

Activists in Utah and Wyoming held rallies this week urging state regulators to scrutinize a document they believe will raise energy bills for hundreds of thousands of Westerners, and worsen air pollution across the northern Rockies.

The subject of the gatherings was Rocky Mountain Power’s 2025 integrated resource plan, a roadmap for electricity generation and transmission from the largest utility in both states, and a subsidiary of PacifiCorp, which is owned by billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway. This year’s integrated resource plan, which is updated every two years, forecasted slowing investments in wind and solar power and battery storage—increasingly inexpensive ways of delivering electricity without producing greenhouse gas emissions.

Residents and environmentalists in both states, where fossil fuel production helps keep residential tax burdens low, have objected to these plans, arguing that failing to invest in renewables—especially before Republican cuts to clean energy tax credits kick in next year—will make energy bills unnecessarily expensive.

“We are being sold a monster,” said Luis Miranda, a senior campaign organizer with the Sierra Club, ahead of a rally in Salt Lake City. “We hope this kind of pressure brings a bit of accountability or sense of responsibility from PacifiCorp.”

David Eskelsen, a spokesperson for PacifiCorp, said the company “does not usually comment on the content of statements made in public witness hearings.” In testimony filed with its regulator in Utah, the Public Service Commission, PacifiCorp disputed the need to build tax-advantaged renewable energy as it had already planned for fossil fuel resources to stay online in Utah.

At a hearing in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Utah public service commissioners responsible for deciding whether to accept the document heard comments from 15 members of the public, none of whom supported PacifiCorp’s plan. Some testified in the spirit of Halloween.

“My name is Dr. Frankenstein,” one costumed commenter said, reimagining the character as a “Pacifi-Corpse” executive. “My 2025 IRP creation is a monster. … You do have the power to stop this IRP before it grows stronger. You could tell Pacifi-Corpse to go back to the lab and to build something clean and affordable.”

“I can’t resist the temptation to wish you a happy Halloween,” David Clark, a commissioner, responded.

Other critiques were less abstract. Tilden Warner, a college student who attended the meeting on crutches and in a walking boot for a broken leg, testified that he is worried PacifiCorp’s plan, with its continued reliance on coal and other fossil fuels, will contribute to increased environmental degradation in Utah. He lamented the ongoing loss of islands in the Great Salt Lake, which are becoming connected to the lakeshore as water evaporates.

“By the time I have kids and they are born here and they grow up, there may be no lake at all,” he said.

Emma Verhamme, a pregnant woman living in Salt Lake, spoke about how she mourns the world her daughter will be born into. Air pollution, climate volatility and higher energy costs all weighed on her.

“I know that I’m not giving her the same world that I was born into,” she said of her daughter’s future. “I can’t put clean air and reliable and affordable energy on my baby shower registry. That’s why I’m here asking you, Public Service Commission, to represent the needs and wants of the people and reject Rocky Mountain Power’s disappointing and seemingly self-serving integrated resource plan.”

If the Utah Public Service Commission accepts the plan instead, the utility could use it as evidence that the commission supported the proposal when applying for rate adjustments associated with it in the future. While PacifiCorp can still pursue the plan if it is not acknowledged, it would be more difficult to claim any costs associated with the plan are prudent, the Sierra Club’s Miranda said.

“I think the community is hopeful because of how the Public Service Commission has reacted over the past year and a half,” Miranda said. “They have been very reasonable and fair, and frankly outstanding.”

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A Sierra Club gathering in Laramie, Wyoming, kicked off just a few minutes after the hearing in Salt Lake City ended. Recent Rocky Mountain Power rate hikes in the Cowboy State have been the subject of intense political scrutiny ever since 2023, when the utility applied for a near-30 percent increase. Residents expressed hope Wednesday that their Public Service Commission would soon hold a hearing on Rocky Mountain Power’s integrated resource plan, and how it might affect what they pay for electricity.

John Burbridge, secretary and chief counsel for the Wyoming Public Service Commission, told Inside Climate News there would be a hearing, but it had not yet been scheduled. Burbridge did not comment on the rally in Laramie.

“What Rocky Mountain Power invests in in this [plan] is ultimately going to affect your rates,” said Emma Jones, a community organizer with the Sierra Club in Wyoming, during that event. “The Public Service Commission needs to hear more from people like you.”

Wyomingites gathered in Laramie as they ask the Public Service Commission to hold a hearing on PacifiCorp’s 2025 integrated resource plan. Credit: Kai Haukaas/Sierra Club

Affordability was at the center of the rally’s proceedings. “I’m concerned about the future,” said Madeline Dalrymple, a Laramie resident. The current plan “will increase our cost of living and make Wyoming more expensive.”

Both federal and private-sector estimates have shown wind and solar energy projects, and battery systems to store their electricity, are cheaper to build than natural gas and coal power plants.

“We see a plan that is trying to hold on to a world that just doesn’t exist anymore,” said Tanner Ewalt, another Laramie resident. “The market itself is determining that coal and oil aren’t the future.”

Elsewhere in the West, other groups are concerned by what they describe as a regional fracturing of PacifiCorp’s system, which stretches across six Western states. Fred Heutte, a senior policy associate with NW Energy Coalition, said he was surprised to see the company propose confining some of the costs on its system to specific regions.

He and Miranda are concerned that a more localized grid will lead to higher costs for consumers. If PacifiCorp built renewables in Oregon and Washington, Utahns and Wyomingites would miss out on that more affordable energy without a suitable transmission connection to bring that energy from west to east—which Heutte said PacifiCorp claims is the case. And Oregonians and Washingtonians, whose states have clean energy mandates, may disproportionately shoulder the capital costs of building new renewable energy operations that should benefit the whole system.

“The reality is, it is a single system, and the new resources that provide the most customer value, wherever they are, are the ones that should be developed,” Heutte said.

About This Story

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Jake Bolster

Reporter, Wyoming and the West

Jake Bolster reports on Wyoming and the West for Inside Climate News. Previously, he worked as a freelancer, covering climate change, energy, and the environment across the United States. He holds a Masters in Journalism from Columbia University.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

Published

10 hours ago

March 11, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Coaches Pick the Best of 1A & 2A Boys Basketball in 2026

The top boys’ basketball players in Wyoming for Classes 1A and 2A were chosen for the 2026 high school season. The Wyoming Coaches Association has unveiled the all-state awards for this year, as voted on by the head coaches in the two classifications, respectively. The Wyoming Coaches Association only recognizes one team for all-state, and only these players receive an award certificate from the WCA. WyoPreps only lists all-state players as defined by the WCA.

WCA 1A-2A BOYS BASKETBALL ALL-STATE SELECTIONS IN 2026

Each class selected 14 players for all-state, reflecting a broad recognition of talent across Wyoming. Notably, congratulations go to Hulett’s Kyle Smith, Brady Cook from Lingle-Fort Laramie, and Carsten Freeburg from Pine Bluffs, who earned all-state honors for the third straight year. In addition, eight more players achieved all-state status for the second time in their prep careers.

Class 1A

Paul McNiven – Burlington

Bitner Philpott – Burlington

Ammon Hatch – Cokeville (All-State in 2025)

Hudson Himmerich – Cokeville

Kyle Smith – Hulett (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Anthony Arnusch – Lingle-Ft. Laramie

Brady Cook – Lingle-Ft. Laramie (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Tymber Cozzens – Little Snake River (All-State in 2025)

Corbin Matthews – Lusk

Max Potas – Meeteetse (All-State in 2024)

Jace Westring – Saratoga

Hazen Williams – Saratoga

TJ Moats – Southeast (All-State in 2024)

Nic Schiller – Upton

Read More Boys Basketball News from WyoPreps

WyoPreps 1A-2A State Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps 3A-4A Regional Basketball Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Final Basketball Poll 2026

1A-2A Boys Basketball Regional Scoreboard 2026

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 11 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-25-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 10 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-18-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 9 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-11-26

WyoPreps Boys Basketball Week 8 Scores 2026

WyoPreps Coaches and Media Basketball Polls 2-4-26

Class 2A

Caleb Adsit – Big Horn

Chase Garber – Big Horn

Carsten Freeburg – Pine Bluffs (All-State 2024 & 2025)

Mason Moss – Rocky Mountain

Oakley Hicks – Shoshoni

Kade Mills – Sundance

Cody Bomengen – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Zak Hastie – Thermopolis

Ellis Webber – Thermopolis (All-State in 2025)

Joseph Kimbrell – Wright

Mitchell Strohschein – Wright (All-State in 2025)

Adriano Brown – Wyoming Indian

Heeyei’Niitou Monroe-Black – Wyoming Indian (All-State in 2025)

Cordell Spoonhunter – Wyoming Indian

The 2026 state champions were the Saratoga Panthers in Class 1A. They beat Lingle-Fort Laramie, 50-45, in the championship game. The 2A winners were the Thermopolis Bobcats, who repeated as champions, after a 45-38 victory over Wyoming Indian in the title game.

Lusk versus Rock River high school basketball 2026

Game action between the Tigers and Longhorns

Gallery Credit: Courtesy: Lisa Shaw

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Wyoming

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

Published

22 hours ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

New laws establish a statewide literacy program

A pair of bills signed into law last week aim to build out a more comprehensive system of literacy education across Wyoming’s public schools.

One mandates evidence-based practices and requires regular screenings for dyslexia, while the other enables the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE) to hire a dedicated literacy professional to oversee statewide compliance.

Gov. Mark Gordon’s signing of both bills on Friday was the latest accomplishment of an ongoing push for improved literacy standards. That push has been spearheaded by State Superintendent of Public Instruction Megan Degenfelder.

“Wyoming is not going to let a single child fall through the cracks,” Degenfelder said during a public bill signing last week. “We are not going to fall behind when it comes to ensuring that our children can read at grade level.”

The primary bill, Senate File 59, establishes a statewide K-12 program for teaching students to read that is built on “evidence based language and literacy instruction, assessment, intervention and professional development that supports educators, engages families and promotes literacy proficiency for all Wyoming students.”

The bill defines evidence-based strategies as those that conform to the science of reading, a term that will be defined and updated by Degenfelder’s office. Nationwide, it generally means putting academic research into practice in classrooms. SF 59 specifically prohibits the exclusive use of “three-cueing” — a strategy once widely employed to teach reading but which education experts now say is outdated and less effective than other strategies.

It also requires annual dyslexia screeners for students below the third grade, and testing for reading difficulties for all students.

The screeners are used to identify the severity of reading difficulties in order to direct “tiered” support that offers the most intensive interventions to the students most in need, while still providing “evidence based” language instruction to all students.

Each school district must formulate an individualized reading plan “for each student identified as having reading difficulties or at risk for poor reading outcomes.”

Districts must now report to the state annually regarding their literacy-related work. Any district where 60% or more of the students are struggling will be required to implement “summer literacy camps or extended supports, including after school support and tutoring.”

The bill also requires literacy related professional development for teachers and specialists “appropriate to their role and level of responsibility” related to literacy education.

SF 59 was backed by dyslexia advocates and literacy specialists.

Senate File 14, the other literacy bill signed into law Friday, appropriates $120,000 annually for the next two years for a full-time position at WDE “to assist school districts in implementing a reading assessment and intervention program and language and literacy programs.”

Both bills go into effect July 1.

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Wyoming

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule – SweetwaterNOW

Published

1 day ago

March 10, 2026

Press Room

Wyoming Announces 2026 Football Schedule

Samuel “Tote” Harris. Photo from gowyo.com

LARAMIE — The University of Wyoming and the Mountain West Conference announced the Cowboys’ 2026 football schedule Monday, a slate that opens with the Border War and concludes with back-to-back home games in Laramie.

Wyoming opens the season Sept. 5 on the road against Colorado State in the 118th edition of the Border War. The Cowboys then host Northern Colorado on Sept. 12 in the home opener before traveling to Central Michigan on Sept. 19.

The Cowboys begin Mountain West play Sept. 26 at home against Hawaii in a matchup for the Paniolo Trophy. Wyoming then faces back-to-back road games at North Dakota State on Oct. 3 and San Jose State on Oct. 10.

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Wyoming returns to War Memorial Stadium on Oct. 17 to host conference newcomer Northern Illinois before facing Air Force at home on Oct. 24. The Cowboys will have an open week on Oct. 31.

The Cowboys open November with road games at UNLV on Nov. 7 and at UTEP on Nov. 14, marking Wyoming’s first meeting with the Miners as members of the Mountain West. Wyoming closes conference play by hosting New Mexico on Nov. 21 and wraps up the regular season with a nonconference game against UConn on Nov. 28 in Laramie.

Each Mountain West team will play four home and four road conference games during the 13-week season, which will conclude with the Mountain West Football Championship Game featuring the two teams with the highest conference winning percentages. The championship game date will be announced later.

With the conference schedule set, Mountain West television partners CBS Sports, FOX Sports, and The CW will begin selecting broadcast games, which could include moving some contests to non-Saturday dates. Network assignments and kickoff times will be announced at a later date.

Season ticket renewals for the 2026 Wyoming football season are now available. Fans can renew their tickets online by visiting gowyo.com/tickets and logging into their account.

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