19Dec

ERCOT Warns EPA Rules Could Spur Outages, Rate Hikes

AUSTIN — The state’s electrical grid operator is warning new federal regulations could drive up the price of electricity and potentially lead to power outages in parts of the state. The last time Texans faced large-scale outages was February 2011. An unusually severe arctic blast caused several power plants to trip offline at the same […]
17Dec

Texas Grid Operator Sees Potential Reliability Fallout from EPA Plans

Texas’ main power grid operator, in its second report in a month on U.S. EPA plans, said yesterday that potential or recently finalized federal environmental rules could affect reliability and costs as substantial coal-fueled generation may retire. The Electric Reliability Council of Texas, or ERCOT, estimated that as much as 8,700 megawatts of coal-fired capacity […]
17Dec

Electric Grid Operations Sound the Alarm: EPA’s Carbon Plan Wreaks Havoc with Reliable and Affordable Electricity

Just like Paul Revere, the experts responsible for managing much of the electric grid in the United States are warning that the EPA’s “too much, too soon” approach to cut carbon emissions by shutting down coal-fired power plants will have disastrous consequences for reliable and affordable electricity. According to the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), […]
16Dec

Even Before Long Winter Begins, Energy Bills Send Shivers in New England

SALEM, N.H. — John York, who owns a small printing business here, nearly fell out of his chair the other day when he opened his electric bill. For October, he had paid $376. For November, with virtually no change in his volume of work and without having turned up the thermostat in his two-room shop, […]
16Dec

States Come Together to Oppose Overreaching EPA Coal Mandates

The Obama Administration likes to pretend its policies benefit the working poor – yet the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed new climate regulations will add billions of dollars in costs to their energy bills over the next decade. That’s one key reason a large and growing number of state governors, attorneys general and government departments […]
15Dec

EPA’s Regulatory ‘Trifecta’ Imperils the Texas Power Grid

Partly because of cheap and abundant natural gas, more than 30,000 megawatts of coal-fired electric power generation have been retired nationwide since 2005 with another 30,000 megawatts likely to go offline in the decade ahead. Still, coal today accounts for nearly 40 percent of all the electricity generated in America. In Texas, coal plants produce […]
12Dec

EPA’s New Rules Will Cost N.D. Dearly

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a barrage of new regulations affecting the electric power supply in the United States. These regulations relate to the operations of power plants, particularly coal-fired power plants, by limiting air emissions, water use and ash disposal. The various new standards which will take effect between […]
11Dec

Rep. Cramer: Where Will You Be When the Lights Go Out?

Pushback against the Obama administration’s complex Clean Power Plan—which would reduce carbon emissions from power plants by 30% in 2030 from 2005 levels—has mostly focused on its staggering cost. NERA Economic Consulting, for instance, estimates the plan will increase the nationwide average price of electricity 12% to 17% over 15 years. But a pair of […]
11Dec

Officials Fear Proposed EPA Rules Will Have Negative Effect on Power Grid

Gathered under the gold dome of the Capitol Monday, state and energy leaders denounced the U.S. Environmental Protect Agency’s Clean Power Act, saying it would have a negative impact on the state’s leading industry. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin, Appalachian Power President Charles Patton and West Virginia Coal Association President Bill Raney said 60 pages of […]
10Dec

MISO, SPP: EPA Clean Power Plan Threatens Reliability, Needs Longer Compliance Schedule

SPP and MISO warned of a reliability crisis if the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan isn’t eased to account for up to 134 GW of generation retirements by 2020, most of them coal-fired units. “Unless the proposed CPP is modified significantly, SPP’s transmission system impact evaluation indicates serious, detrimental impacts on the reliable […]