In an effort to help America’s rural cooperatives send a message to the EPA, the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) has launched a new website containing important information and online petition. The effort, called Tell EPA, focuses on EPA’s new carbon dioxide regulation for existing power plants, a rule that threatens to raise the price of electricity and cause job losses.
Visit the TellEPA Website Here
“I oppose the EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas regulations for existing power plants because we need to balance our country’s energy needs with environmental concerns. It’s very important that we all have the electricity needed to run our lives and the economy,” the petition reads. “The potential for these new regulations to dramatically raise energy prices and cost thousands of hard-working American jobs is too great.
These new plans to regulate power plants don’t work for my family, my community or our nation’s economy.”
Nationwide, electric utilities depend on coal for 38% of the power they deliver to customers. America’s electric cooperatives are more dependent on coal, with 58% of power delivered to rural customers coming from coal.
“In so many ways, the people that will be most affected by EPA’s sweeping new regulation are rural customers served by America’s electric cooperatives,” says PACE Executive Director Lance Brown. “The cooperatives that serve them rely significantly on coal to deliver the low-cost, reliable power they need. For that reason, rural Americans are directly in the crosshairs of EPA’s costly new carbon dioxide rule.”
By signing the online petition and providing basic contact information, you can stay informed about the latest developments with the EPA rule and what you can do to help.