Photograph by Jerry Sintz, courtesy of Utah Travel Council
PUBLIC UTILITIES HIGHLIGHTS
Utah’s electric power and natural gas rates are among the nation’s lowest. Utah enjoys state-of-the-art telecommunications systems, including an extensive fiber optic backbone. High-quality, low-cost groundwater is readily available statewide.
Utah companies benefit from cost-effective and stable public utilities. The state’s leading providers of electric power and natural gas include Utah Power (a division of PacifiCorp), Mountain Fuel Supply Company (a subsidiary of Questar Corporation), Deseret Generation and Transmission and several rural electric cooperatives and municipal utility systems. The Public Service Commission regulates electric power and natural gas rates of investor-owned utilities. This regulatory body is comprised of a chairman and two commissioners appointed by Utah’s governor for six-year terms. Local power boards regulate the state’s municipal power companies. Most of Utah's water users are served by approved municipal water systems governed by water boards in their respective municipalities. ELECTRIC
Industrial electric rates in Utah’s major cities compare favorably with those in other U.S. cities. Utah has traditionally been able to escape the electricity price spikes that have been common in many West Coast cities. Power demand in the urban regions of Utah is rising at about 4 percent annually, while industrial demand for electricity is down by about the same rate. Utah Power (a division of Scottish Power) is the largest electric utility in the state. Fortytwo municipalities in Utah provide electric power to their residents.
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