Fitch Assigns Initial 'A' Rating

Fitch Ratings has assigned an initial 'A' rating to Utah Associated Municipal Power Systems' (UAMPS, or the System) approximately $72.1 million of Payson Power Project refunding revenue bonds, series 2012, to price via negotiation on or about March 14, 2012. (The Payson Project consists of a combined cycle, natural gas-fired, electric generating facility with a nominal generating capacity of 140 MW located in Payson City, Utah.) Proceeds of the bonds will be used to advance refund the System's outstanding 2003 series A and 2007 project revenue bonds for approximately a 10.6% savings of the refunded par. The Rating Outlook is Stable. Wall Street Journal-Market Watch

New hydropower project announced for Utah

The federal government announced plans for a new Utah hydropower plant in Spanish Fork Canyon. It is the third such project of its kind in the country under a new push by the Department of Interior. The development at the Central Utah Project's Spanish Fork flow control facility would tap the money of private investors to accelerate the installation of an eight megawatt facility.

The government will publish a "notice of intent" in the federal register this week, paving the way for private development companies to submit proposals. A review team will then spend about five months determining the best candidate, with the selection anticipated to be made by Oct. 14. Deseret News

Rocky Mountain Power seeks OK to build power plant in Utah County

Rocky Mountain Power is asking state utility regulators for permission to build a new natural gas-fired power plant in Utah County. The utility said it needs the additional plant to provide for the growing electricity needs of its Utah customers. If the project gets Utah Public Service Commission approval, Rocky Mountain Power plans to build the new generating facility next to its existing Lake Side plant, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City in Vineyard. The company hopes to have all of the necessary approvals in place to allow construction to begin in April. The plan is for the plant to go into service by the summer of 2014. Salt Lake Tribune

PacifiCorp seeks Utah power plant approval

Power provider PacifiCorp has asked Utah's Public Service Commission to approve its plan to build a new natural gas power plant. The plant would be built adjacent to an existing plant in Vineyard, about 40 miles south of Salt Lake City.

Project plans call for two natural gas combined-cycle combustion turbines and generators. A steam turbine generator would produce electricity from the exhaust heat of the combustion turbines. The plant would generate about 637 megawatts — enough electricity for about 326,000 homes. Deseret News