The incoming chair of the Western Governors’ Association (WGA), Governor Spencer Cox (R-Utah), has made sustainable energy generation, transmission and storage the Chair Initiative for 2026. The initiative is expected to establish priorities for meeting Western energy supply and demand needs, best practices on energy policy, and potential issues for the organization’s advocacy at the federal level. The WGA may want to consider the policy objectives in Utah Senate Bill 132, a bill supported by NAIOP Utah and unanimously passed earlier this year. The legislation allows for "closed private generation systems" that are behind the meter to generate the needed electricity to service large-scale development projects. These private generation systems may connect with the interstate transmission grid if they meet federal and state requirements.

The generation and transmission of electricity to meet current and future demand by public and private providers has emerged as a major issue for commercial real estate development, not only in the Western United States but across the country. The absence of a sustainable supply of electricity is hindering commercial development and growth in transforming the economy. NAIOP has focused on the issue as a top federal priority with Congress and the Trump administration.