Senator Ron Winterton joined Representative Scott Chew at the Chamber luncheon on Tuesday to present a review of what happened at this year’s legislative session. Of the 1400 files opened, Utah legislature addressed around 800 of them and passed 591 bills. One topic Senator Winterton focused on was the heavy lifting needed in the energy sector. He referred to the power plant in Delta that was built in the early 80s and used Utah coal and provided Utah jobs. Now, that plant and other coal plants are being shut down but without a viable replacement for energy needs. Winterton said operations like nuclear are decades out from operation and in the meantime wind and solar energy cannot provide anywhere near what is needed. He stated that last year was the first year that Utah imported more electricity than it exported and in response to this alarming trend, they passed legislation saying Utah won’t let power plants be decommissioned until a replacement is operational because Utah is not going dark.
