Utah's new energy director made her debut before the state Legislature Wednesday, already under the gun to come up with a plan to address soaring prices, development issues and the road ahead.

Laura Nelson, named Utah energy director by Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. in late July, told the state's Public Utilities and Technology Interim Committee Wednesday that her office and lawmakers are working to identify the state's top energy issues and come up with policy recommendations. Those recommendations will be discussed in a more detailed report in mid-October.

"We've got a lot of work ahead of us," Nelson said. "But I think we're really all on the same page here. We need to move forward on energy policy."

The state has both short- and long-term needs, Nelson said. Some warrant immediate attention, and some are more forward-looking.

"What I really see is important right now is that we have some short-term issues that we have to address, some short-term objectives that perhaps can't wait for longer-term objectives, which is to have a state energy policy, so that we can respond during times when we have crises," Nelson said.

"For many of our citizens right now, this is a time of crisis. We're coming up on the winter months, and some of the most sensitive citizens of our state, through energy prices, are going to be affected by price increases. In the short term that will be an objective, to look at what we can do in terms of our low-income initiatives and programs to mitigate some of those price increases that some citizens of our population are really going to be affected by."

Nelson did not provide further information on which initiatives or programs might serve to mitigate high home heating prices, who would qualify for the programs or when they might become accessible.

For the long term, Nelson said she'll be looking at fundamentals, defining the principles of a policy and what it should address and accomplish.

"We've got a lot of resources here, and we have a lot of opportunities," Nelson said. "We should be looking at how we can facilitate access using our diverse resources, both from the demand side and the supply side."

Resource diversity leads to price stability, Nelson said, and the state will be looking at ways to insulate itself against wobbly prices. It also will be looking at ways to implement and promote more efficient energy use and cost-effective development of resources.

At the same time, the legislative committee, via its State Energy Policy Working Group, is progressing in defining its own policy priorities, said Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake. Four sub-groups have been created to study energy development; efficiency, consumption and consumers; transmission and transportation; and government organizations.