More Questions for EPA on Regulations
Nations Go Dark on Solar Subsidies
January 30, 2012PACE in National Journal: Is Obama’s Blueprint Built to Last?
February 6, 2012Leaders of the House Energy and Commerce Committee last week requested more answers from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the potential negative consequences of its new Utility MACT regulation. In a letter to Administrator Lisa Jackson, signed by committee chairman Rep. Fred Upton (MI) and thirteen other members, the committee once again asked EPA to calculate the full cost of the regulation, which requires expensive capital upgrades at coal-fired power plants. EPA finalized the Utility MACT rule on December 16, 2011.
The letter states that the Regulatory Impact Analysis provided by EPA “does not provide a total cost of the regulation, but only a share of those costs assigned to three select years from costs that are amortized over 30 to 40 years.” PACE has argued that EPA’s cost estimate of $11 billion for Utility MACT is far too low and is probably closer to the estimate of $300 billion from the Energy Information Administration.
In addition, the committee also asked EPA to clarify its initial cost estimate for Utility MACT, as the agency’s original estimate assumed that the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule would already be in effect. A court recently issued a stay on the EPA rule until its legal merits could be determined.
In recent days, at least one major American power producer has felt the effects of aggressive new EPA regulations. FirstEnergy announced last week it would retire six coal-fired power plants in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Maryland in an effort to comply with pending environmental regulations.
“It has been clear for some time that EPA’s new regulations are aimed squarely at making America’s coal-fired power fleet too expensive to operate,” said PACE Executive Director Lance Brown. “The agency and others scoffed at estimates that new rules could retire 50,000 megawatts of power generation, but the count to date is 27,000 megawatts and growing. Unfortunately for American families and businesses, the net effect will be higher power rates and endangered reliability.”
