Gov. Cox announces task force to improve energy grids in Western states

PARK CITY — Utah Gov. Spencer Cox announced a task force Tuesday alongside governors from several Western states to speed up the building of energy transmission lines and promote coordination between states to improve energy grids.

The governor announced the task force on the first day of the Western Governors' Association annual meeting at the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City. Cox has served as chairman of the organization for the past year where he has focused on expanding production and transmission of energy.

Cox said the new Transmission Permitting Alignment and Coordination Task Force, or PACT, will give leaders of Western states and tribal nations a way to work out issues with permitting new energy projects, as transmission lines often cross state lines.

"We're going to cut through the red tape. We're going to do this together," he said. "We're going to get projects moving much more quickly, and we're going to fix our (energy) grid. Modernizing our grid will show that we can continue to increase economic competition, ensure energy security and mitigate environmental hazards — all doing it together as Western governors."

Energy has long been a key issue for the governor, who is promoting an expansion of nuclear energy in the Beehive State, and he said addressing energy transmission roadblocks will help keep prices low for consumers.

Asked about the impact of energy development projects and data centers on Utah's recent primary elections — which saw the defeat of Utah Senate President Stuart Adams — Cox said he didn't see a single "theme" that led to some incumbents losing.

"What I do think is important is that we're listening to constituents and responding to their concerns, and certainly that's something that we're trying to do here in Utah," he said. "One of the things people are upset about is that their power rates keep going up, right? And in order for power rates to go down, we have to develop more energy, and we can do that in ways that are environmentally sensitive."

Cox, along with the governors of Colorado, Wyoming, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, North Dakota, Arizona, New Mexico and Washington, signed a memorandum of understanding creating the task force and backing WestTEC, a regional effort to study energy transmission needs across states.

"The WestTEC study assesses needs to not only support reliability, but also to promote open, competitive markets by reducing bottlenecks that restrict choice and limit access to lower-cost power," the memo reads. "As governors, we will work together to find practical, bipartisan solutions that improve the grid and expand transmission infrastructure across the West."

Lessons from the World Cup

Cox used his opening remarks of the annual meeting of Western governors to tout the United States as a "pluralistic society" that benefits from people of different backgrounds.

"Life is really boring when we're all the same," he said.

That couldn't be more evident than during the World Cup, which the U.S. is hosting in part with Canada and Mexico. Like many Americans, Cox admitted he typically doesn't care about soccer but described himself as the "most passionate soccer fan in the world" every four years during the international tournament.

Cox reveled in the attention the nation has received on the world stage as tourists from Europe and Asia marveled over Costcos, Buc-ee's convenience stores, ranch dressing and more pieces of Americana.

The governor said there are two lessons he hopes Americans have learned from the tournament, each one aimed at a different subsection of the country.

"Half the country needed to learn that the rest of the world is pretty awesome," he said. "There's a lot of great people there, and we have so much in common. And I think half our country had to realize that America is also pretty cool and a pretty awesome place."

As members of a "creedal nation," Cox said, Americans are united by a love of country and are "all dedicated to improving it and making it better."

"Sometimes that means we fight because arguing is the only way to make it better," he said. "To figure out which ideas are the best, we have to actually try those ideas. We are having a grand experiment in self-government still, 250 years later, and so we're going to have those arguments. But other times it actually means coming together and learning from each other and finding those solutions together, and that's why we're all here."

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