Dear Senators Lee and Curtis and Representatives Moore, Maloy, Owens and Kennedy:
As the leaders of some of Utah’s best-known companies, we write today about the future of energy in Utah. As you finalize the emerging tax bill, we encourage you to enact policies that will prioritize economic growth, abundant power generation and avoiding harm to Utah businesses.
As you know, last year Governor Cox announced Project Gigawatt to double Utah’s power generation over the next decade. In light of Utah’s looming electricity supply crisis, driven by our growing population, artificial intelligence and other factors, Project Gigawatt’s goal is to rapidly build new power generation so Utah maintains its strong economic growth and quality of life.
As business leaders, we know that economic growth will not happen without abundant electricity. And we know that tax incentives are a business-friendly, pro-growth tool for the free market to build out more power generation. This is why we are concerned about the fate of energy tax credits in the budget reconciliation bill in Congress.
In addition to having enough power to fuel Utah’s economy, we are concerned that drastic changes to federal tax policy will negatively impact Utah businesses that are building the power generation we desperately need. Some of the very companies at the forefront of U.S. energy innovation, dominance and independence are headquartered in Silicon Slopes.
Sudden changes to energy tax credits that do not allow businesses sufficient time to plan and adjust operations will harm not only Utah businesses and thousands of jobs, but also our ability to achieve Project Gigawatt and maintain our state’s economic growth. Unfortunately, the energy tax provisions in the House-passed bill threaten these consequences.
As our elected representatives in Congress, we respectfully urge you to work together and deliver a more thoughtful, measured approach on energy tax credits before Congress sends this legislation to the president. Thank you for your leadership and partnership as we pursue our shared interest in what’s best for Utah.
Sincerely,
Scott Anderson, president and CEO of Zions Bank
Derek Miller, president and CEO of Salt Lake Chamber
Gov. Gary Herbert, former governor of Utah
Alex Dunn, managing partner of Larry H. Miller Company
Todd Pedersen, founder of Vivint
Ryan Starks, president and executive director at Economic Development Corporation of Utah
Brandon Fugal, chairman of Colliers International
David Bywater, board chair of Horizon Services
Luigi Resta, president of rPlus Energies
Blake Murray, founder of Divvy
Adam Chase, CEO of Chase Marketing
Shaun Wilson, CEO of Origin
Eric Woodley, partner of Woodley Co.
Casey Adams, founder of Visible Supply Chain Management
Jonathan Freedman, president and CEO of World Trade Center Utah
Christian Gardner, CEO and chairman of the Gardner Group