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Utah Power And Light Company Business Information, Profile, and History

700 N.E. Multnomah Street
Suite 1600
Portland, Oregon 97232-4116
U.S.A.

History of Utah Power And Light Company

Utah Power and Light Company (UP&L) is the major provider of electrical power in Utah and the Intermountain West. Since its creation in 1912, it has acquired more than 100 small power producers and supplied power for the area's homes, companies, and cities. UP&L has encouraged the use of electrical consumption by promoting appliances and the benefits of modern electrified life. It has endured many challenges from the Great Depression to the energy crisis of the 1970s, when it began emphasizing energy conservation and finding new sources of energy. In 1989 UP&L became a subsidiary of Portland-based PacifiCorp, which operates in seven states: Oregon, Utah, Washington, Montana, Idaho, California, and Wyoming. In late 1998 Scotland-based ScottishPower began the acquisition of PacifiCorp, but government approval was pending. Heavily regulated historically by state laws and policies, UP&L and most electric utility firms face a major change from probable energy deregulation and increased competition as the century ends.

Preliminary Power Developments in Utah

Strange as it may seem, Utah played a key role in the history of electrical power. While Utah was still a federal territory, in 1880 the Salt Lake Power, Light, and Heating Company was formed. Following London, New York, San Francisco, and Cleveland, in 1881 Salt Lake City became the world's fifth city to electrify with a central station source of electricity. Dr. John McCormick in his history of UP&L described this dramatic moment: "At 8 p.m. the lights came on. Even a blind man would have known it because a loud shout went up from the assembled spectators, and those who had remained inside until the last moment rushed out into the already crowded streets. At first there was only a faint, pale glow, but it gradually grew brighter and brighter until each lamp 'glowed like a sun, being fully as dazzling to the eye and lighting up every nook and corner within their reach with the brightness of noonday'."

One of the first main uses of electricity was to run streetcars. The Salt Lake City Street Railway Company in 1872 had started the city's first streetcars pulled by horses and mules. In 1889 electricity replaced the animals in Salt Lake City's trolleys, allowing some families to live further from downtown. Ogden, Provo, and Logan, Utah also had electric streetcars.

Electric streetcars within cities led to electric trains between cities. Five such interurban trains were built in Utah, starting in 1891 with the Bamberger line between Salt Lake City and Ogden, originally a steam-powered line. Other interurban electric lines were built across the nation, reaching a peak of 15,580 miles in 1916.

Although people marveled at the changes from the electrical revolution, for a generation rival power companies wasted resources fighting each other. For example, different firms erected their own power lines, resulting in a maze of electric, telephone, and trolley lines in Salt Lake City. Plants remained small and inefficient, and rural consumers seldom received power. McCormick called it a "nightmare."

Well into the 20th century, consumers could get electricity only part-time. When the moon was bright, the lights went out in Salt Lake City. Plus, power was unreliable because of frequent equipment failure and vandalism. At the turn of the century, only about 20 Utah communities in nine of the state's 27 counties had electricity.

Early 20th-Century Incorporation

On September 6, 1912, Utah Power & Light Company was incorporated in Maine as a subsidiary of Electric Bond and Share Corporation (EBASCO). General Electric (GE) had started EBASCO in 1905 as a New York City holding company to consolidate small power companies in Utah, Idaho, and Colorado into stable entities that could purchase GE-manufactured equipment. EBASCO's 200-plus operating companies in 30 states supplied 14 percent of the nation's power in the mid-1920s.

Such consolidation was a major trend in the electrical industry in the early 20th century. By 1929, 16 holding companies provided more than 80 percent of the nation's electricity. Smaller firms simply did not have the capital and could not attract enough investors for the increasingly complex technology and huge service areas that needed access to electricity.

UP&L on November 22, 1912 acquired Telluride Power Company with its five power plants that served southeastern Idaho, western Colorado, and northern Utah. Telluride had started and UP&L finished a major hydroelectric and irrigation project on Bear Lake that McCormick said was "one of the first multipurpose reclamation developments in the nation." On February 7, 1913 Utah Power purchased another major firm, Knight Consolidated Power, started by Provo's Jesse Knight to provide electricity to his mines mainly in the Tintic Mining District south of Provo. Two months later, in April 1913, UP&L purchased Idaho Power and Transportation Company, Ltd. with its three plants serving customers in southeastern Idaho. And then in 1915 Utah Power made its fourth major early acquisition, that of Utah Light and Traction, which operated five power plants for Salt Lake City customers.

Utah Power eventually acquired some 130 companies. In addition to the four major acquisitions, it purchased shortly after its founding the Park City Light, Heat, and Power Company; Preston, Idaho's Idaho-Utah Electric Company; Shelley, Idaho's Gem State Light and Power Company; Provo's The Electric Company; the Camp Floyd Electric Company in Mercur, Utah; and several other small firms in Utah and Idaho. By 1922 UP&L operated 40 generating plants and had nearly doubled its miles of power lines to integrate its system. About half of its total capacity came from its Bear River hydroelectric plants.

The company also emphasized stimulating demand for power in its early years. Its Sales Department told consumers electricity was necessary for modern life, not just a luxury for the rich. It advertised the benefits of electric fans, blankets, irons, and toasters produced initially after the turn of the century. Since few dealers were available, the company sold and serviced electric stoves and refrigerators. To appeal to the new generation, it placed appliances such as stoves in public schools for cooking classes. Utah Power demonstrated the new labor-saving devices in schools and churches and even on sidewalks. In 1917 UP&L produced two movies promoting the advantages of electricity, not only for lighting, but for electric sewing machines, vacuum cleaners, and other new equipment.

Meanwhile, most industries, from mines to cement factories, had been electrified by 1922. That included agriculture, which increasingly used electric pumps for irrigation. UP&L pushed city lights to prevent crime.

World War I stressed the company due to labor and material shortages. Women helped make up for the men who left for the military after the Congress declared war in 1917.

The Twenties and the Great Depression

Utah Power enjoyed prosperity in the Roaring Twenties, when many American corporations increased their production and stock prices rose for many years. UP&L built three new plants in the 1920s, including its first steam plant, which marked the start of the declining role for hydroelectricity. It acquired 17 small power firms in Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming between 1922 and 1929.

The only negative aspect of that era, from the power company's perspective, was the increasing use of cars and trucks, which slowly replaced the electric trolley cars and interurban trains. According to McCormick, trolley use in Utah peaked in 1914 when only 6,216 cars were registered in the state. By 1929 Utah residents registered 112,000 cars, and the number of trolley passengers had declined rapidly. The power company tried a hybrid vehicle. In 1928 it pioneered the use of a rubber-tired trolley bus powered by overhead electrical lines. To gain further flexibility, internal combustion engines replaced the electrical lines, resulting in the modern bus that could go anywhere.

In 1929 the Great Depression began, and Utah Power suffered along with the rest of the nation. Utah's unemployment rate in 1932 reached 35.8 percent, the fourth highest in the United States. UP&L's customers, revenues, and kilowatt hours all began to decline in 1929. Plus, the company from 1932 to 1940 doubled its taxes to all levels of government and was forced in the 1930s to reduce its power rates by Utah's Public Service Commission. In 1935 Utah Power admitted that "it had been fighting for its very existence" for the previous five years. Provo and also Delta, Colorado rejected UP&L during the Depression in favor of their own municipal power agencies; the power company succeeded in defeating similar proposals in Salt Lake City, Ogden, and Montrose, Colorado.

UP&L survived the depression by drastically cutting its work force and the wages of its remaining workers. The company also eliminated salaries for board members, reduced dividends, and ended its free services on electrical appliances.

Increasing Demand from World War II

The Great Depression finally ended as the United States prepared to fight World War II. UP&L geared up to meet the electrical needs of the state's new military bases and defense-related companies. In the company's history book, UP&L's former President E.M. Naughton said, "The nineteen-forties were a busy time for the people of Utah Power & Light. In many ways it was like a three-ring circus."

New military installations needing power included Fort Douglas, Camp Kearns, Wendover Air Force Base, Ogden Arsenal, Hill Field's General Depot, Clearfield Naval Supply Depot, Tooele Army Depot, Dugway Proving Ground, and the Deseret Chemical Depot. The federal government built the huge Geneva Steel plant in Utah County, which was sold after World War II to U.S. Steel. Other defense plants that helped increase power demands included Salt Lake City's Remington Small Arms Plant with peak employment of 10,000, the Eitel McCullough Radio Tube Plant, and the Standard Parachute Company in Manti.

Such plants had to work around the clock, so Utah Power had to scramble to keep its systems working. That proved rather difficult because of war shortages of copper, steel, and rubber. The company sometimes was forced to use substitutes, for example, iron for copper. Meter readers used bicycles instead of cars. Overtime was common for Utah Power workers, not surprising in light of the 27 percent increase in output between 1940 and 1943.

Postwar Developments as an Independent Firm

As required by the 1935 Public Utility Holding Company Act, Utah Power on January 1, 1946 changed from an EBASCO subsidiary to an independent company with a new board of local directors. They led a company that for the next 20 years or so kept prices low and enjoyed steady expansion and prosperity. By 1967 its customers numbered 275,000, about double from the 140,000 in 1945.

Using mainly new coal-fired plants, Utah Power had doubled its 1945 output by 1954 and then again doubled that capacity by 1963, when it could produce 1,064,275 kilowatts. The company spent $313 million from the end of the war to 1967 on new construction. For example, it spent $6 million to build at the mouth of Provo Canyon the second unit of the Hale Plant, with generating capacity of 44,000 kilowatts. Coal for the Hale Plant and other facilities came mostly from Utah's Carbon County, a major coal source since the late 1800s.

After not advertising during World War II, Utah Power renewed that effort in the postwar years. It promoted "Better Living Electrically" by emphasizing the benefits of television in the late 1940s and the 1950s, air conditioning starting in the late 1950s, and the all-electric home in the 1960s. The company in 1953 started a national advertising program to attract new businesses to Utah, citing the area's abundant natural resources, open spaces, good transportation, and numerous recreation opportunities.

The 1960s brought some major changes to Utah Power. The firm began using mainframe computers in 1961 to automate its accounting. Half of the firm's 31 hydroelectric plants by 1964 were unattended because of computerization. Centralized computers in 1966 controlled the company's electrical production and transmission to gain the best balance of fuel prices and efficiency, system security, and power purchases from outside companies. In addition, a microwave radio system improved communication between power plants, substations, and company headquarters.

In 1958 Utah Power began participating in the development of atomic energy. Along with 51 other utilities, it formed High Temperature Reactor Development Associates, Inc. (HTRDA) to fund research and development of a new plant. HTRDA, General Atomic, Bechtel Corporation, and the Philadelphia Electric Company built and operated the nation's first gas-cooled nuclear plant built by private enterprise. Nuclear energy did not, however, fulfill the high hopes of UP&L President G.M. Gadsby, who in the firm's corporate history said, "With the availability of a great new energy source&mdashõmic power ... the millennium of physical comfort is almost at hand."

The Difficult 1970s and 1980s

Starting around 1970, UP&L faced some major challenges fueled by rapid population growth. Its customer base expanded from 282,000 in 1968 to almost 500,000 in 1984. To meet the demand, Utah Power built some huge and very expensive plants: the third Naughton Plant unit near Kemmerer, Wyoming and five 400,000-kilowatt units at the Huntington and Hunter plants in Emery County, Utah. To save money on these and other coal-fired plants, Utah Power in the early 1970s began purchasing its own coal mines with several hundred million tons of reserves. By the early 1980s only about five percent of its power came from hydroelectric dams, compared with 90 percent in 1946.

This expansion cost consumers a pretty penny. Starting in 1971, the Utah Public Service Commission allowed UP&L to raise its rates every year due to increasing inflation. For example, between 1975 and 1980 the cost of coal increased 150 percent. Its new plants cost the firm $1,000 per kilowatt, far more than the $129 per kilowatt to build the oldest of the 13 steam-generating plants it owned in 1980.

Not surprisingly, many complained about rising power rates. That kept Utah Power's public relations staff busy trying to explain why the increases were necessary. For example, the company told how increasing environmental regulations impacted power rates. Utah Power also started programs to help those struggling to pay their utility bill. It started in 1983 the Project Share program that was administered by the Red Cross to help the needy. And it began working with social workers to help families contact state and local government agencies that provided help not only for electrical bills, but also for medical care and other assistance.

After the Arab oil embargo in 1973, Utah Power implemented an energy conservation policy that was just the opposite of what was done in the early 20th century. It published booklets and gave demonstrations on how to save energy. It worked with architects and contractors to help them design and build more energy-efficient structures. Houses became more air-tight and thus saved energy, but that also resulted in increased indoor air pollution as an unintended side effect.

Like other energy companies around the world, Utah Power in the 1970s began exploring alternative energy sources, including solar power and the possibility of using garbage to create energy. It built one of the nation's first geothermal plants in 1984. Located at the Roosevelt Hot Springs near Milford, Utah, this geothermal plant had a capacity of 20,000 kilowatts. The company in 1984 also formed a wholly owned subsidiary called Energy National, Inc. to explore alternative energy sources.

In 1975 Utah Power sold its subsidiary Western Colorado Power Company for $20.7 million to a group of four rural cooperatives called the Western Colorado Power Agency. The sale had little impact on UP&L, however, because the subsidiary accounted for only two percent of its income.

Aquisition, Deregulation, and Diversification: Late 1980s--90s

In 1987 UP&L and PacifiCorp announced they had agreed to merge in a $1.85 billion stock swap. Utah Power had considered merging with other utilities, including Public Service Company of New Mexico. Headquartered in Portland, PacifiCorp originated in 1910, about the same time as UP&L. The agreement allowed Utah Power to retain its name and Salt Lake City offices, but it would operate as a PacifiCorp subsidiary. Verl Topham, UP&L's president/CEO, became a board member of PacifiCorp.

This deal was not finalized until 1989 because of regulatory requirements. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission required PacifiCorp to open its power lines to independent producers under certain situations. In spite of criticism from other power companies, PacifiCorp agreed in order to gain the advantages of merging with UP&L. PacifiCorp gained access through UP&L lines to distribute its power to California and the Southwest. PacifiCorp, whose demand peaked in winter, and UP&L, with peak demands in the summer, both benefited from the merger. In 1989 PacifiCorp received 37.2 percent of its electricity revenues from Utah customers and 29.6 percent from Oregon.

In December 1995 Utah Power announced it would close 13 customer service offices in Utah and five in Idaho to cut costs and expand modern payment options. Company representatives said that 85 percent of the firm's customers already used the mail system or phones to make payments and that UP&L would expand the use of electronic transfers and 24-hour telephone services.

In 1996 California started a new trend by passing legislation deregulating the energy industry. According to the power industry in December 1998, 12 states had passed laws allowing what it called retail choice in power. Utah was not on the list, but its lawmakers had looked into energy deregulation. Utah Power supported deregulation, since power from any producer would be transmitted over its lines. At the end of the century, it was a major issue faced by Utah Power and its parent company PacifiCorp.

To prepare for deregulation, PacifiCorp and Utah Power in 1997 diversified their services and products, with advice from the law firm Stoel Rives LLP. Offered to all PacifiCorp customers in its seven-state market, this new "Simple Choice" program included new payment options, extended appliance warranties, surge suppressors, DISH Network Satellite TV, carbon monoxide detectors, and payment protection in case of customers' death, disability, or unemployment. Other new items included cell phones, paging, wireless modems, Internet services, home security services, a parts hotline, and on-call repair assistance for the do-it-yourself consumer.

In 1998 Utah Power began building 12 substations to power the Utah Transit Authority's light rail system from downtown Salt Lake City to the suburb of Sandy. Thus the company came full circle by again supplying power to electric trains that were so crucial in its early history around the turn of the century.

In December 1998 company representatives announced that Scotland-based ScottishPower plc had agreed to purchase PacifiCorp, pending approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and state regulatory bodies. If accepted, the deal was reported to be the first time a foreign company purchased an entire American electric firm. Utah Power spokesmen stated, however, that the firm's 580,000 Utah customers would not see many changes and that UP&L would continue as a PacifiCorp subsidiary.

Related information about Utah

pop (2000e) 2 223 200; area 219 880 km²/84 899 sq mi. State in W USA, divided into 29 counties; the ‘Beehive State’; first white exploration by the Spanish, 1540; acquired by the USA through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 1848; arrival of the Mormons, 1847; Utah Territory organized, 1850; several petitions for statehood denied because of the Mormons' practice of polygamy; antagonism between Mormon Church and Federal law over this issue led to the ‘Utah War’, 1857–8; joined the Union as the 45th state, 1896; capital, Salt Lake City; other chief cities, Provo and Ogden; rivers include the Colorado and Green; contains the Great Salt Lake in the NW, the largest salt-water lake in the country (2590 km²/1000 sq mi); L Utah is a freshwater lake S of Great Salt Lake; the Wasatch Range, part of the Rocky Mts, runs N–S through the state; the Uinta Mts in the NE; highest point, Kings Peak (4123 m/13 527 ft); mountainous and sparsely inhabited E region dissected by deep canyons; major cities (containing four-fifths of the population) lie along W foothills of the Wasatch Range; the Great Basin further W; the arid Great Salt Lake Desert in the NW; cattle, sheep, poultry, hay, wheat, barley, sugar-beet; copper, petroleum, coal; aerospace research, machinery, transportation equipment, electronic components, fabricated metals, processed foods; tourism (Arches, Bryce Canyon, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Zion National Park).

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Utah (IPA: ) is a U.S. state located in the western United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the union on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,500,000 people live in an urban concentration with Salt Lake City as the center, known as the Wasatch Front. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making the population the sixth most urbanized in the U.S.MSN Encarta

The state is generally rocky with three distinct geological regions: the Rocky Mountains, the Great Basin, and the Colorado Plateau. Utah is known for its natural diversity and is home to features ranging from arid deserts with sand dunes to thriving pine forests in mountain valleys.

It has a large tourism business and was host to the 2002 Winter Olympics. The ski resorts in the northern Wasatch Range, the Bonneville Salt Flats, the Great Salt Lake, the five national parks in the south, such as Arches, Zion and Bryce Canyon, and cultural attractions such as Temple Square, Sundance Film Festival, and the Utah Shakespearean Festival are among the most visited. The religion has historically had a strong regional influence and has contributed to the state's restrictive attitude towards alcohol and gambling, while also contributing to its high birth rate (25% higher than the national average; the highest for a state in the U.S.).Utah holds onto No.1 birth rate Before the 1890 Manifesto, the Church's teachings of plural marriage had led to confrontation with the U.S. federal government in the Utah War.

Beginning in the late 19th century with the state's mining boom, including what is now the world's largest open pit mine, companies attracted large numbers of immigrants (of diverse faiths) with job opportunities.

Geography

Utah is one of the Four Corners states, and is bordered by Idaho and Wyoming in the north; Portions of these mountains receive more than 500 inches (1,250 cm) of snow each year and are home to world-renowned ski resorts, made popular by the light, fluffy snow, which is considered good for skiing. The major cities of Ogden, Salt Lake City, Layton, West Valley City, Sandy, West Jordan, Orem, and Provo are located within this region, which stretches approximately from Brigham City at the north end to Nephi at the south end. The Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake are the only two significant remains of this ancient freshwater lake, which once covered most of the eastern Great Basin. West of the Great Salt Lake, stretching to the Nevada border, lies the Great Salt Lake Desert, the most arid area in Utah.

Much of the scenic southern landscape is sandstone, more specifically Kayenta sandstone and Navajo sandstone. This terrain is accentuated in protected parks such as Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Capitol Reef, and Zion national parks, Cedar Breaks, Grand Staircase-Escalante, Hovenweep, and Natural Bridges national monuments, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (site of the popular tourist destination, Lake Powell), Dead Horse Point and Goblin Valley state parks, and Monument Valley, a popular photographic and filming site.

Southwestern Utah is the lowest and hottest spot in Utah. Economies are dominated by mining, oil and natural gas-drilling, ranching, and recreation. The most popular destination within eastern Utah is Dinosaur National Monument.

Like most of the west and southwest states, the federal government owns much of the land in Utah. Over seventy percent of the land is either BLM land or U.S. National Forest, park, U.S. National Monument, National Recreation Area or U.S. Wilderness Area.

Climate

Most of Utah is arid and high in elevation. St. George averages about 3 inches (7.5 cm) of snow per year, while Salt Lake City receives almost 60 inches (150 cm) annually (amplified by the lake effect from the Great Salt Lake). Fog and haze often caused by temperature inversions are common in the valleys and basins during winter, especially the Uinta Basin, just south of the Uinta Mountains.

During summer and fall, most of the precipitation is received from the storms coming from the south and consists of short, sporadic, and intense thunderstorms that can cause wildfires and flash floods. The record high temperature in Utah was 117 °F (47 °C), recorded at St. George on July 5, 1985,fact and the record low was -69 °F (-56 °C), recorded at Peter's Sink in the Bear River Mountains of northern Utah on February 1, 1985.Utah Cold Weather Facts - Snow and Winter Storms. Some left petroglyphs and pictographs which exist throughout the state.

Francisco Vásquez de Coronado may have crossed into what is now southern Utah in 1540, when he was seeking the legendary Cíbola.

A group led by two Catholic priests—sometimes called the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition—left Santa Fe in 1776, hoping to find a route to the California coast. The expedition traveled as far north as Utah Lake and encountered the native residents.

Fur trappers—including Jim Bridger—explored some regions of Utah in the early 1800s.

Mormon settlement

Mormon pioneers first came to the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. As a consequence of the Mexican-American War, the land became the territory of the United States upon the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. In 1850, the Utah Territory was created with the Compromise of 1850, and Fillmore was designated the capital.

Disputes between the Mormon inhabitants and the US Government intensified due to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' practice of plural marriage among its members. The resulting conflict is known as the Utah War.

As troops approached Salt Lake in northern Utah, nervous Mormon settlers and Paiutes attacked and killed 120 immigrants from Arkansas in southern Utah.

Before troops led by Albert Sidney Johnston entered the territory, Brigham Young ordered all residents of Salt Lake City to evacuate southward to Utah Valley and sent out a force, known as the Nauvoo Legion, to delay the government's advance. Brigham Young was among the first to send a message, along with Abraham Lincoln and other officials.

Because of the American Civil War, federal troops were pulled out of Utah Territory, leaving the territory in LDS hands until Patrick E. The war is unique among Indian Wars because it was a three-way conflict, with mounted Timpanogos Utes led by Antonguer Black Hawk exploited by federal and LDS authorities.

On May 10, 1869, the First Transcontinental Railroad was completed at Promontory Summit, north of the Great Salt Lake. The railroad brought increasing numbers of people into the state, and several influential businessmen made fortunes in the territory.

During the 1870s and 1880s, laws were passed to punish polygamists, and in the 1890 Manifesto, the LDS Church banned polygamy. During the 1950s, '60s, and '70s, with the construction of the Interstate highway system, accessibility to the southern scenic areas was made easier.

Beginning in 1939, with the establishment of Alta Ski Area, Utah has become world-renowned for its skiing. This also spurred the development of the light-rail system in the Salt Lake Valley, known as TRAX, and the re-construction of the freeway system around the city.

During the late 20th century, the state grew quickly. Northern Davis, southern and western Salt Lake, Summit, eastern Tooele, Utah, Wasatch, and Washington counties are all growing very quickly. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 49,995 people, and migration within the country produced a net loss of 33,822 people.

Much of the population lives in cities and towns along the Wasatch Front, a metropolitan region that runs north-south with the Wasatch Mountains rising on the eastern side. Utah has a higher percentage of people sharing a single religious denomination than any other state.
Utah contains 5 metropolitan areas (Logan, Ogden-Clearfield, Salt Lake City, Provo-Orem, and St. George), and 5 micropolitan areas (Brigham City, Heber, Vernal, Price, and Cedar City). The St. George metropolitan area is currently the second-fastest growing in the country (behind Las Vegas), while the Heber micropolitan area is also the second-fastest growing in the country (behind Palm Coast, Florida).St. George growth 2nd fastest in U.S.. Deborah Bulkeley, Deseret Morning News

Race and ancestry

The five largest ancestry groups in the state are:

29.0% English
11.6% German
6.8% Native American
6.5% Danish
6.1% Mexican

Most Utahns are of Northern European descent.Demographics & Statistics. Chinese form the largest Asian group and Tongans form the largest Pacific Islander group.

Religion

Utah is well-known for being a heavily Mormon (or Latter Day Saint) state. This means that a majority of the state's residents are affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints or one of its schisms, such as the significantly smaller and polygamous Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and other Latter Day Saint denominations. Matt Canham, Salt Lake Tribune. which represent less than 50% of the population in urban areas and over 90% in rural areas.fact There are a large and increasing number of Catholics in Utah as a result of immigration from Mexico, including previous waves of Catholics from Italy,facts and as with all states in the West the percentage of those claiming no religion is above the national average, earning the state the title of the 10th highest irreligious population, which it shares with five other states. The Salt Lake Tribune has projected that Latter-day Saints may no longer be a majority as early as 2030.

The religious affiliations of the people of Utah are:
Religious statistics

Latter-day Saints - 57%
Roman Catholics - 6%
Episcopalians - 3%
Baptists - 2%
Other Christians - 3%
Evangelicals - 1%
Presbyterians - 1%
Lutherans - 1%
Methodists - 1%
Non-religious - 17%
Refused to identify - 4%
Other - 3%
Muslim - 1%

Totals are rounded.

Transportation

Interstate 15 is the main interstate highway in the state, entering from Arizona north to Idaho and serving such cities as St. George, Provo, Salt Lake City, and Ogden. Breaking from Interstate 80 at Echo, Interstate 84 heads northwest through the mountains and out onto the Wasatch Front, merging with I-15 at Roy and staying merged until Tremonton. I-80 enters from Nevada at Wendover and heads east through Salt Lake City, briefly merging with I-15 before climbing into the mountains and weaving through canyons and across plateaus into Wyoming, just before reaching Evanston. Interstate 70 begins at Cove Fort and heads east through mostly uninhabited areas, providing access to many of southern Utah's recreation areas before entering Colorado.

A light rail system in the Salt Lake Valley known as TRAX consists of two lines, one providing access from downtown Salt Lake City and Sandy, and the other providing access to the University of Utah east of downtown. Several bus companies provide access to the ski resorts in winter, and local bus services also serve Logan, St. George and Cedar City. The first portion, known as the Legacy Parkway, in southern Davis County, will begin construction in spring 2006. A commuter rail line, named FrontRunner, is under construction between Salt Lake City and Pleasant View, north of Ogden, and will be complete by 2008. State of Utah Elections Office. Three recent amendments were put on the Utah election ballot: Amendment 1 would allow the state legislature to convene special sessions to impeach authority; and Amendment 3 defined marriage as a civil union between one man and one woman and provided no legal recognition for other forms of civil unions.

All three amendments passed and went into effect on January 1, 2005. the other is Hawaii.

Utah is an Alcoholic beverage control state. He is known for being a proponent of a flat taxdeseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635164929,00.html 5% flat tax urged for Utah Deseret Morning News, opposition to same-sex marriage while supporting the creation of a reciprocal beneficiary status for same-sex coupleswww.hrc.org/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=22369&TEMPLATE=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm Marriage Measure Dividing Utah Race Deseret Morning News, opposition to intelligent design being taught in the classroomdeseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600158730,00.html Huntsman opposes 'design' as science Deseret Morning News, and receives high approval ratings from across the Utah political spectrumsurveyusa.com/50State2006/50StateGovernor060321Approval.htm Huntsman approval.

The state has two Republican senators, Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett. Two more Republicans, Rob Bishop and Chris Cannon, as well as one member of the Democratic Party, Jim Matheson, represent Utah in the United States House of Representatives. However, the brand of Republicanism is more libertarian than most.(or) See marriage amendments

The state's leadership is run by the Republican Party. The custody measure passed the legislature and was vetoed by the governor, a reciprocal benefits supporter.

Prayers are commonplace in Utah politics, and lawmakers of both parties, whether liberal or conservative, speak of their relationship with God or their religious beliefs in ordinary conversation.(or)

Utah's liberal areas include Carbon County, Grand County, Salt Lake County, and Summit County. Salt Lake City's Mayor Rocky Anderson is known for his support of same-sex marriage and the Kyoto Treaty, while the county mayor Peter Corroon is a relative of Howard Dean and shares similar views.

Carbon County's Democrats are generally made up of members of the large Greek, Italian,and Southeastern European communities, whose ancestors migrated in the early 1900s to work in the extensive mining industry. The views common amongst this group are heavily influenced by labor politics, particularly of the New Deal Era.Utah History Encyclopedia - United Mine Workers of America

Grand County's politics are heavy on environmentalism and being socially liberal. The county has a large hippie community situated in the resort town of Moab in red rock country between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.

The Democrats of Summit County are the by-product of the migration of wealthy families from California in the 1990s to the ski resort town of Park City; their views are generally supportive of the economic policies favored by unions and the social policies favored by the liberals.

The state's most Republican areas tend to be Utah County, which is the home to Brigham Young University and Provo, and nearly all the rural counties.www.le.state.ut.us/asp/roster/roster.aspwww.le.state.ut.us/documents/redistricting/redist.htm The Republicans found in these areas generally hold socially conservative views in line with that of the national Religious Right.

The state has not voted for a Democrat for president since 1964. Utah was the Republicans' best state in the 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000 and 2004 elections. Utah's Democrats publicly expressed displeasure with the selection of John Kerry after the election, whom they found to be too friendly to abortion and the labor unions, and too hostile to gay-rights and free trade for their constituents' taste. In the 1996 Presidential elections the Republican candidate received a smaller 54% of the vote while the Democrat earned 34%.President Elect - 1996

Important cities and towns

Lists of cities in Utah: Alphabetical?Ranked by population

Utah's population is concentrated in two areas, the Wasatch Front in the north-central part of the state, with a population of approximately 2 million; St. George, in the southwest, is the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the United States, trailing Las Vegas, Nevada.

The state's two fastest growing counties are: Summit (at 91.6%; The cities (defined as having at least 9,000 residents in 2000) that saw the greatest increases between 1990 and 2000 were: Draper (248%), South Jordan (141%), Lehi (125%), Riverton (122%), and Syracuse (102%). Between 1990 and 2000 the five fastest-growing cities of any size were Cedar Hills (302%), Draper (248%), Woodland Hills (213%), Ivins (173%), and South Jordan (141%). According to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the five fastest-growing cities of any size between 2000 and 2005 were Herriman (637%), Saratoga Springs (548%), Eagle Mountain (380%), Cedar Hills (152%), and Syracuse (91%).

Utah Rank	Metropolitan Area	Population (2004)	U.S. Rank	Counties
1	Salt Lake City*	1,018,826	50	Salt Lake, Tooele, Summit
2	Ogden-Clearfield*	477,455	101	Weber, Davis, Morgan
3	Provo Orem	412,361	112	Utah
4	St. George	109,924	318	Washington
5	Logan	109,666	320	Cache, Franklin (Idaho)

* Until 2003, the Salt Lake City and Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan areas were considered as a single metropolitan area.An Economist's Perspective on Urban Sprawl, Part 1

Utah locations by per capita income

Education

Colleges and universities

Brigham Young University in Provo
College of Eastern Utah in Price
Dixie State College of Utah (formerly Dixie College) in St. George
ITT Technical Institute in Murray
LDS Business College in Salt Lake City
Neumont University in South Jordan
Provo College in Provo
Salt Lake Community College in Taylorsville
Snow College in Ephraim and Richfield
Southern Utah University (formerly Southern Utah State College) in Cedar City

Stevens-Henager College at various locations statewide
University of Phoenix at various locations statewide
University of Utah in Salt Lake City
Utah College of Massage Therapy in Salt Lake City
Utah State University in Logan (satellite campuses at various state locations)
Utah Valley State College (formerly Utah Valley Community College) in Orem
Weber State University in Ogden
Western Governors University an online university, begun by former Utah Governor, Michael O. Leavitt
Westminster College in Salt Lake City

Professional sports teams

The Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association play in the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Utah is by far the least populous U.S. state to have a major professional sports league franchise, although the

Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer in Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City (a soccer-specific stadium has been approved for Sandy, and ground was broken for the new stadium on August 12, 2006)Real Salt Lake Breaks Ground For Sandy Stadium. kutv.com.
Salt Lake Bees of the Pacific Coast League in Franklin Covey Field in Salt Lake City
Ogden Raptors of the Pioneer League in Lindquist Field in Ogden
Orem Owlz of the Pioneer League in Parkway Crossings in Orem
Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL in the E Center in West Valley City
Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City

Miscellanea

Popular recreational destinations within the mountains besides the ski resorts include Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Bear Lake, and Jordanelle, Strawberry, East Canyon, and Rockport reservoirs. The mountains are popular camping, rock-climbing, skiing, snowboarding, and hiking destinations.
The USS Utah was named in honor of this state.
The Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster is built and serviced by the Thiokol division of ATK, which has its facilities in Brigham City. Boosters are tested periodically at a proving grounds in the Wasatch Range.
Utah (as of 2002) ranks first in antidepressant use www.mmmo.org/articlesofinterest/utahdepress.htm and (as of 2005) no longer ranks first in personal bankruptcies per capita in the United States deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635206768,00.html. Statistics relating to pregnancies and abortions may be artificially low from teenagers going out of state for abortions because of parental notification requirements www.agi-usa.org/pubs/journals/2911597.html, www.agi-usa.org/pubs/ib22.html. Utah has the lowest child poverty rate in the country, despite its young demographics www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem.html.
According to Internal Revenue Service tax returns, Utahns rank first among all U.S. states in the proportion of income given to charity by the wealthy www.adherents.com/largecom/lds_dem.html.
Jell-O is the official snack food of Utah news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/1156021.stm, giving rise to the term the Jello Belt.
Mexican President Vicente Fox visited Salt Lake City, Utah, on May 23, 2006, as the first stop on his trip to the United States, which also included stops in California and Washington state. LDS.org Newsroom.

Famous Utahns

Philo Farnsworth - inventor of the electronic television.
John Moses Browning - designer of popular firearms like the M2 .50 caliber machine gun and the Colt Model 1911 .45 semi-automatic handgun.
George Ouzounian (aka Maddox)- Satirist
John Willard Marriott - founder of worldwide hotel business Marriott International, Inc..
The band The Used was formed in Utah, and 3 of the 4 members were born there as well.
The Osmonds
Roseanne
Brandon Flowers - lead singer of The Killers (although born in Las Vegas he was raised in Nephi, Utah)
Steve Young - Hall of Fame quarterback for San Francisco 49ers, won NFL's Most Valuable Player award 1992 and 1994, direct descendant of Brigham Young.
Jake Garn - former astronaut and U.S. Senator.

Branding

The state of Utah relies heavily on income from tourists and travelers taking advantage of the state's ski resorts and natural beauty, and thus the need to "brand" Utah and create an impression of the state throughout the world has led to several state slogans, the most famous of which being "The Greatest Snow on Earth," which has been in use in Utah officially since 1975 (although the slogan was in unofficial use as early as 1962) and now adorns nearly 50% of the state's license plates. In 2001, Utah Governor Mike Leavitt approved a new state slogan, "Utah! Where Ideas Connect," which lasted until March 10, 2006, when the Utah Travel Council and the office of

In fiction

In the Doctor Who episode "Dalek," Utah was the base of operations for the fictional character Henry van Statten.
In the Fox series Prison Break D.B. Cooper buried his money under a silo in the Utah desert, somewhere near Tooele.
The film SLC Punk! takes place in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Notes

Additional topics

Company HistoryElectricity & Utilities

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