Comment by dragonwriter

> Is it more efficient to ship electricity instead of gas

Yes, in general, and especially if (as is the case here) the electrical transmission infrastructure is already in place and you are just switching powerplants at the generating end (its a whole lot cheaper to build nothing than gas supply infrastructure.) But also:

> or is it just more politically convenient to pollute Utah instead of LA?

Its both more politically convenient and less of an adverse impact on human life to pollute farther from dense population centers, yes.