Partnership for a Better Energy Future: EPA Rule Risks Jobs, Increases Costs, Threatens Reliability

Press Release
August 3, 2015

 

AUGUST 3, 2015, WASHINGTON, DC – The Partnership for A Better Energy Future expressed disappointment over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan.  The rule, signed today in a White House ceremony with advocates and supporters is one of the most expensive and far-reaching rules in its history, designed to regulate carbon emissions from the electric power sector.  The rule represents an unprecedented intrusion into affairs of the states that will increase costs for small businesses, manufacturers, and households, threatens electric reliability and offers an unacceptable cost to consumers and the economy.

The Partnership for a Better Energy Future (PBEF), a coalition of more than 170 organizations and trade associations, will continue to explore every possible remedy to make sure greenhouse gas (GHG) regulatory actions do not cost American jobs and hurt the U.S. economy.

Partnership Members offered the following Comments regarding the EPA rule:

National Association of Manufacturers President and CEO Jay Timmons: “This regulation will be exceptionally difficult for manufacturers to meet and will increase energy prices and threaten electric reliability. Manufacturers need policies that foster continued innovation, encourage new investments and allow manufacturers to remain competitive—not ones that punish and penalize. This regulation and the President’s Climate Regulatory Action Plan are not the answer.”

U.S. Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas J. Donohue: “As dozens of states, the Chamber, and numerous other stakeholders have discussed, the EPA's effort to shut down existing power plants and thus drive up energy prices for businesses and consumers alike will inflict significant damage to our entire economy and reduce our nation’s global competitiveness without any significant reduction in global greenhouse gas emissions. It is a bad deal for America, and we will pursue all available options, including litigation if necessary, to block EPA's regulatory power grab from taking effect.”

Mike Duncan, President and CEO of American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) : “Even in the face of damning analyses and scathing opposition from across the country, EPA’s final carbon rule reveals what we’ve said for months – this agency is pursuing an illegal plan that will drive up electricity costs and put people out of work,” said “This rule fails across the board, but most troubling is that it fails the millions of families and businesses who rely on affordable electricity to help them keep food on the table and the lights on.”

Hal Quinn, CEO of the National Mining Association“The Nation’s governors now have a clear choice to make about their course: accept this flawed plan and put their citizens at risk, or reject it and challenge EPA’s authority and competence to manage their state’s energy economy from Washington. It’s change without a difference.” 

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jo Ann Emerson: “Any increase in the cost of electricity most dramatically impacts those who can least afford it, and the fallout from the EPA's rule will cascade across the nation for years to come.”

Howard J. Feldman, API senior director of regulatory and scientific affairs: “America is leading the world in reducing emissions thanks to a revolution in the production and use of natural gas. We can continue that progress without costly new regulations that could hurt consumers and stifle economic growth. Meeting climate challenges must go hand-in-hand with ensuring that Americans have the affordable and reliable energy necessary to grow our economy and create jobs. Instead, the EPA rule could impose the greatest costs on those who can least afford it – Americans looking for jobs and families that don’t have the means to pay higher monthly bills to heat and cool their homes.”

American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers President Chet Thompson: “We are concerned that the rule exceeds EPA’s statutory authority, commandeers states primacy in making energy decisions, provides inadequate time for compliance, and fails to consider the current energy infrastructure, which ultimately will lead to higher electricity costs for consumers. The rule’s so-called ‘beyond the source’ approach creates a worrisome precedent for the future of regulation under the Clean Air Act.”

Former EPA Air Administrator, ERCC Counsel Jeff Holmstead: EPA just doesn’t have authority under the Clean Air Act to require states to restructure their whole electricity systems. This goes way beyond what EPA is authorized to do under the Clean Air Act. This plan goes way beyond anything that Congress ever intended. I don’t think it will pass muster in court.

 

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The Partnership for a Better Energy Future is a coalition of stakeholders representing nearly every segment of the U.S. economy, unified in our support for responsible energy regulations.  The Partnership’s fundamental mission is to ensure the continued availability of reliable and affordable energy for American families and businesses.