26Nov

Supreme Court to Review EPA Rule on Power Plant Emissions

WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would review the nation’s first-ever standards requiring power plants to reduce mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants, taking up a case with implications for President Barack Obama ’s broader environmental agenda. The high court accepted several challenges to the rules brought by the utility industry and […]
25Nov

Viewpoint: EPA Regulations Hit Florida’s Poor, Seniors Hardest

Energy policy used to be focused on providing affordable, reliable energy. But President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency have swapped that focus for one on reducing carbon emissions. As many Americans still struggle to recover from the Great Recession, that focus couldn’t be more off the mark. The EPA’s new, proposed plan aimed at […]
24Nov

Report: EPA Regulations To Raise Power Costs 37 Percent By 2020

Environmental Protection Agency rules will only force electricity prices up even higher as the agency finalizes a slew of regulations aimed at the power sector, according to a new report. The report by Energy Ventures Analysis found that the EPA underestimates how much its power plant regulatory regime will raise electricity and natural gas prices by […]
22Nov

Nothing ‘Commonsense’ About EPA’s Proposed Rule

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this summer billed its proposal to cut carbon emissions from power plants as a “commonsense plan.” Unfortunately, what the EPA considers common sense actually defies that definition. Even worse, it will hurt families and the region’s economy. Simply stated, this is a vital policy struggle about keeping your lights on […]
20Nov

EPA Impoverishing Seniors

The American people registered their disapproval of President Obama’s policies in the midterm elections. This means EPA’s proposal to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in new and existing power plants needs to be entirely re-evaluated with a commonsense approach. Congress and this administration need to take into account the adverse financial impact upon millions on fixed […]
18Nov

Grid Operator Says EPA Power Plant Rule ‘Clarification’ is Bad News for Coal States

One of the biggest electric grid operators in the country, PJM Interconnection, says its member states would have a harder time complying with U.S. EPA’s proposal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector under the agency’s clarified guidance for implementing state carbon budgets. EPA’s draft rule from June 2 said states could take […]
18Nov

Power Grid Operator: EPA Climate Plan Would Raise Costs

As Texas regulators weigh a response to President Obama’s proposal to combat climate change, the operator of the state’s main electric grid says the plan would raise energy costs and threaten reliability – particularly in the next few years. In an analysis released Monday, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) said the plan — which […]
14Nov

Pence to Congress: Block Obama on Coal

Former Congressman and current Governor Mike Pence (R-IN) urged members of the Congress to use the power of the purse to stop the president from acting unilaterally on the issues of environmental regulations and immigration on Thursday’s “Laura Ingraham Show.” “The power of the Congress is the power of the purse…whether it be blocking any […]
12Nov

Overseers Flag Concerns as System Shifts to Gas, Renewables

A national surge toward natural gas and renewable energy driven by cheap gas and new government rules and policies is creating reliability concerns — especially in the Midwest, New York and Texas — and weakening buffers for blackouts, grid overseers warned today. And those problems loom even before considering the impact of U.S. EPA’s power […]
10Nov

US Clean Power Plan Poses Risks to Electricity Reliability

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan could harm the reliability of the power grid and may need to be modified before it is finalised. In an initial review released on Wednesday, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) assessed how proposed limits on greenhouse emissions from existing fossil-fuelled power stations would affect the […]