A group of public municipalities and a private utility in Utah notified the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power July 18 that they were going to sue L.A. for its decision to not renew its long-term contract for imported coal-fired power. Also targeted by the suit to be filed is the Intermountain Power Agency (IPA), which along with the Los Angeles department allegedly interfered with the Utah Associated Power Systems and Pacificorp’s plans to build a new coal fired unit at the Intermountain Power Project in Utah. Los Angeles and IPA allegedly “breached contracts and otherwise violated the law when they abruptly announced in March 2007 they would no longer support development of Unit 3”--a planned coal-fired unit at the facility--states the Utah utilities’ press release. “We do not believe there is any basis to the claim,” said Joe Ramallo, the department spokesperson. He declined to comment further because his agency had not seen a copy of the notice of the lawsuit “Sounds like an act of desperation, and that their time has passed,” said V. John White, Center for Energy Efficient and Renewable Technologies Executive Director, of the Utah utilities impending complaint. After much pressure from local, state and federal politicians, LADWP announced it would not renew its contract for more than 1,100 MW of coal power generated in Utah (Circuit, Nov. 10, 2006). Mathew McNulty, counsel for the Utah munis, said the focus of the complaint was the Intermountain Power Agency, and L.A. was dragged into the suit because it was an agency partner. Los Angeles backed out of the contract for imported coal last November in response to its mayor’s directive. In addition, a state law went into effective beginning of this year that limits carbon emissions from power units (Circuit, Nov. 27, 2006). “The problem is not the state requirements enacted by our friends in California, which is fine and appropriate, but that it impacts our ability to provide power to Utah,” McNulty said. The lawsuit is expected to be filed by the mid to late August.