NMA: Governors Have a Better Choice

WASHINGTON, July 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The upcoming unveiling of the Environmental Protection Agency's plan to impose new far-reaching regulations on emissions of existing power plants promises to bring unwelcome increases in electricity prices for consumers and businesses, warns the National Mining Association.

"This plan is all pain and no gain," said Luke Popovich, vice president of communications for the National Mining Association. "That's why state leaders across the country are coming to the same conclusion—that we should not sacrifice our power system to an unworkable plan built on a faulty interpretation of the law."

Under the so-called Clean Power Plan created by the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA has come up with what it calls an "electricity emission budget" for each state—budgets based on complex assumptions about future electricity demand, changes in electricity sources, and reductions in energy use. EPA is calling on states to submit their own power plans based on these assumptions.

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"According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which monitors the dependability of our power systems, EPA in fact underestimates the number of power plants that will be closed under its plan—and overestimates the amount of new power sources and energy efficiency that will be available to fill the gap."

If states implement plans using EPA's emission budgets, Popovich said, serious consequences will follow:

• Grid reliability will be threatened; cascading outages could become the new normal.
• Reductions in affordable electricity sources will drive up wholesale electricity costs, forcing higher utility bills onto households and businesses.
• States will be following an EPA plan which some legal scholars believe is founded on weak Constitutional ground, and which may unlawfully impose on the states' authority.

"The good news is that the Clean Air Act gives governors a choice in this matter," he said. "They can choose not to submit a state power plan to the EPA. They have the power to protect their constituents by refusing to surrender control of their states' energy policy to regulators who ignore the costs to their citizens."

For more information, please visit www.nma.org.

The National Mining Association (NMA) is the voice of the American mining industry in Washington, D.C. Membership includes more than 325 corporations involved in all aspects of coal and solid minerals production including coal, metal and industrial mineral producers, mineral processors, equipment manufacturers, state mining associations, bulk transporters, engineering firms, consultants, financial institutions and other companies that supply goods and services to the mining industry.

CONTACT: 
Luke Popovich
(202) 463-2620
[email protected] 

SOURCE National Mining Association

Related Links

http://www.nma.org