Partnership Update - December 10
On December 7th, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases “threaten public health and welfare.” While this announcement does not impose any additional requirements on the electric industry, it virtually assures continued Congressional activity when it comes to climate change legislation.
While the EPA has been aggressive in exercising its regulatory powers since the start of the new Administration, the Agency states it would prefer a Congressional solution. EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson notes that the Obama Administration “will not ignore science or the law any longer.”
Indiana’s electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are concerned that overly restrictive EPA regulations could damage a fragile U.S. economy and devastate coal-dependent states such as Indiana. Therefore, we remain resolute in our goal to work with Congress to address climate change in a fair, affordable and achievable manner.
As we approach the new year, the Partnership for Fair and Affordable Energy resolves to:
Work with Congress on fair, affordable, and achievable legislation. Toward that goal, significant improvements are necessary in both the House and Senate legislative language. Those include:
• A formula for distribution of carbon allowances to local distribution companies that is based 100 percent on emissions and is equitable for all regions of the country.
• Cost containment measures such as a safety valve that ensures future affordability of electricity.
• Reasonable emission caps and a timetable for transition that allows for the development of necessary technology to control and/or contain carbon emissions. Emission reduction targets that are too aggressive will make any program unaffordable and unworkable.
Eliminate regulatory duplication. The EPA announcement that carbon dioxide emissions pose a threat to public health is a bureaucratic and regulatory commitment to action. Lawsuits are guaranteed but unlikely to help. Thirty-nine such lawsuits have been filed to prevent implementation of rules and regulations for the Clean Air Act since 2000, and only once have the courts stayed the implementation of those regulations. In the end, if Congress acts legislatively, that action should supersede all federal, state and local regulation of greenhouse gasses.
Decide something. Our industry needs certainty. We need to know what types of generation will be permitted in order to prepare for future demand. It takes at least ten years to construct most fossil fuel baseload generation. Nuclear, a zero carbon generation source, will take even longer. Wind and solar have some value and shorter construction times, but they also have serious reliability constraints and cannot meet baseload power needs. Legislation that reduces carbon doesn’t have to be cap-and-trade. A fair and affordable solution could reduce carbon emissions by creating energy efficiency incentives and accelerating implementation of alternative energy, nuclear and clean-coal technologies.
Exercise our rights. You can learn more at www.fairpowernow.org. The website contains a great new video explaining the concept of cap-and-trade and how it will affect your electric bill. You can also register your opinion with members of the Indiana Congressional Delegation.
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