A coalition of environmental groups wrote a letter this week to every Edison Electric Institute member CEO asking them to support EPA’s proposed emissions standards for power plants. (See EPA Proposes New Emissions Standards for Power Plants.)
The groups say that EEI is going to come out against the rule when it files official comments by the Aug. 8 deadline. The letter was signed by 29 organizations but was spearheaded by Evergreen Action, a group founded by staffers of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s (D) 2020 presidential campaign.
“During the hottest summer ever recorded, EEI is attempting to tear apart one of our best chances at ramping down the pollution that’s fueling the climate crisis,” Evergreen Action Executive Director Lena Moffitt said in a statement. “The power sector is the second largest contributor of the greenhouse gas emissions that are warming our planet and placing hundreds of millions of Americans under extreme heat warnings. EPA’s proposed carbon standards are both common sense and one of the most powerful tools we have to ramp down that pollution.”
The coalition — which includes the League of Conservation Voters, Sierra Club and Southern Environmental Law Center — claims EEI’s comments will “flatly attack” EPA’s proposal, especially in how it treats natural gas plants.
“We are asking you to communicate to EEI leadership that your company will not sign or endorse EEI’s comments unless they commit to collaboration; and to publicly confirm that your company will engage constructively with EPA to support carbon standards for not only existing coal but also for new and existing gas plants in their final form,” the groups said.
An EEI spokesperson said Wednesday that the investor-owned utility trade group was working with its “members to finalize extensive comments that are intended to help EPA develop final rules that support the ongoing clean energy transition, prioritize customer affordability and are legally durable.”
“There are elements of the proposal that are favorable, and we are making recommendations to strengthen them; elements that are fixable with additional flexibilities; and elements that miss the mark,” the spokesperson said. “Throughout this rulemaking process, EEI has provided EPA with extremely detailed and constructive feedback, and our filing next week will offer the same.”
The environmentalists argued that utilities could leverage the billions of dollars available under the Inflation Reduction Act and other laws to control pollution, build a clean energy grid and sell to new customers as electrification efforts grow.
“On the other hand, if you align with the fossil fuel industry, rather than with clean electricity — and hide behind EEI’s deeply misguided comments — the public will know where your company stands,” the groups wrote. “You can expect ratepayers, regulators, climate advocates and government funders to question whether your decarbonization commitments are serious; whether you are properly mitigating ratepayer and investor risk in light of the growing crisis; and whether federal and state funds should flow towards companies doubling down on yesterday’s unstable power system.”
EPA’s latest attempt to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from power plants has led to some criticism so far, but it also has some clear support from some industry. Advanced Energy United in June wrote a letter to EPA arguing that the grid’s transition to clean energy could bolster reliability and that the proposed rule can be implemented without issue.
“Advanced energy technologies offer a variety of grid- and residential-scale solutions to weather-related and demand-side disruptions that fossil fuels do not,” AEU said. “Proven methods such as demand response and energy efficiency have bolstered vulnerable grids in times of need.”
