EPA Rule Risks Jobs, Increases Costs, Threatens Reliability
August 03 2015 - 5:48PM
Business Wire
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.”
American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE)
President and CEO Mike Duncan: “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. 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.”
National Mining Association CEO Hal Quinn: “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.”
API Senior Director of Regulatory and Scientific Affairs
Howard J. Feldman: “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.”
ERCC Counsel, Former EPA Air Administrator, 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."
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.
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PBEFFrank Maisano, 202-997-5932frank.maisano@bgllp.comorMatt
Letourneau, 202-463-5945mletourneau@USChamber.orgorMallory
Micetich, 202-637-3085MMicetich@nam.org