Western governors to gather at Deer Valley for energy policy summit

Deer Valley will become a Western political hub at the end of June, when more than 400 delegates, government officials and outside observers are expected at Stein Eriksen Lodge for the Western Governors’ Association annual meeting. The gathering runs June 30 through July 2 and will be hosted by Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, giving Summit County a front-row seat to a summit that is part policy session, part high-profile regional showcase.

The schedule stretches beyond the main meeting dates. The Western Governors’ Foundation says delegates begin arriving June 28, with a leadership forum set for June 29 before the annual meeting opens the next day in Park City and Deer Valley. That multi-day flow will bring a steady stream of people into local hotels and restaurants just as the July 4 holiday period gets underway and the county’s summer visitor traffic starts to build.

The attendee list gives the event real political weight. Cox is expected to be joined by governors from Wyoming, Hawaii, Nevada, New Mexico and Colorado, along with Doug Ford, the premier of Ontario. No members of President Donald Trump’s Cabinet are expected, but the meeting is still large by regional standards. Last year’s annual meeting in Santa Fe drew seven western governors and five U.S. Cabinet secretaries, a reminder that the WGA’s yearly gathering can pull national-level attention when the agenda calls for it.

This year, the agenda centers on energy. WGA says Cox’s chair initiative, titled Energy Superabundance: Unlocking Prosperity in the West, will conclude with a special policy report containing federal recommendations on energy production, transmission and storage. The meeting will also include keynote addresses and panel discussions, which could touch the same federal planning and development issues that ripple into Utah’s housing, water, wildfire response and tourism pressures.

For Summit County, the practical question is not whether the event is ceremonial, but what it leaves behind. Park City municipal government has no formal role in the meeting, underscoring that the town is hosting rather than directing the discussion, while Vail Resorts is sending a government-relations representative to be part of the mix. Cox became WGA chair at the 2025 annual meeting in Santa Fe, after New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham passed him the gavel, and Hawaii Gov. Josh Green was elected vice chair. By the time the summit wraps on July 2, Deer Valley will have spent several days as a stage for Western policymaking and a significant boost for the local hospitality economy.