PACE Joins Comment on EPA Carbon Rule

This past Monday, PACE joined a host of others in filing a public comment on EPA’s new carbon dioxide regulation, known as the Clean Power Plan. The comments were submitted by the Partnership for a Better Energy Future, a group that includes PACE, as well as groups such as the American Farm Bureau, Associated Builders and Contractors, National Association of Manufacturers, National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Read the Public Comment

“Access to abundant supplies of affordable and reliable energy is lowering costs for businesses and households across the country while spurring economic growth and job creation as our economy continues to recover from the worst recession in generations,” the comment states. “With both abundance and diversity of supply, energy has become this country’s competitive advantage. In order to foster continued growth and take full advantage of our energy potential, we need policies that support the continued provision of reliable and affordable electricity.”

In particular, the Partnership’s filing argues that EPA’s new rule is incompatible with many aspects of the U.S. electricity system and represents an unwarranted expansion of the agency’s regulatory reach. The rule would also raise power prices significantly, as much as 12% per year for the average American power consumer. This represents as much as $479 billion in additional costs that would be born by the national economy.

Reliability was also a major focus of the public comment, especially in light of a recent report that speculated the new carbon rule could cause power outages and generally threaten the reliability of American power. The Partnership called on EPA to conduct a thorough review of these concerns, noting that “such an analysis is imperative so that we can know, before it is too late, whether reliable electric service can be maintained in conjunction with the implementation of the [Clean Power Plan].”

“At this point in the rule-making process, it is clear that utilities, grid operators, state regulators, industrial consumers, households and many entities in between have significant concerns with EPA’s proposed approach. The Partnership strongly urges EPA to address these concerns, perform more detailed analyses about the impacts of this rule on energy markets and ultimately pursue more balanced and reasonable policies” the comment concludes. “EPA has failed to adequately address these serious concerns in the proposed rule which, if finalized, would prevent all of our domestic energy sources from playing a role in a true all-of- the-above energy strategy. EPA should either correct these significant deficiencies or withdraw the rule.”