Senate advances broad energy bill HB 249 and passes SCR 3 asserting Utah's authority over energy policy

The Senate Transportation, Public Utilities, Energy and Technology Standing Committee advanced second substitute House Bill 249, a comprehensive energy bill that would create a Utah Energy Council, establish electrical energy development zones and an Electrical Energy Development Investment Fund, and set up advisory bodies including a Nuclear Energy Consortium and a renamed Utah Energy Research Board. The committee also passed Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, which asserts the state’s authority to determine its energy policy and asks the federal government for early consultation on energy matters.

Representative Albrecht, the sponsor, described the bill as the product of a bipartisan summer energy working group and said the legislation "is a start to get us to nuclear energy down the road," referencing both small modular reactors and larger nuclear facilities. He said the bill expanded during drafting from an initial focus on nuclear to a framework that covers gas, battery storage, wind, solar, geothermal and transmission.

Under the bill, the Utah Energy Council would coordinate project development,…