The main lobbying group for US electric utilities has expressed plans to oppose a Biden administration proposal to curb greenhouse gas emissions from existing gas power plants, raising questions about the industry’s commitment to reducing planet-heating pollution.
It is expected that the pushback will put the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) out of step with many of its members’ stated commitments to cut emissions, critics say. It also runs counters to the US voters’ political views based on new polling shared exclusively with the Guardian and Floodlight.
First proposed in May, the power plant rules would force power providers to clean up certain large coal- and gas-fired plants, either by installing new greener technologies or shutting the projects down. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is asking states and utilities to submit plans on how they choose to limit those emissions within 24 months of the rules’ final approval.
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Currently, EEI is circulating a draft comment on the rule to its member groups which were described by first-hand sources to Craig Segall, vice-president of policy at Evergreen Action. The draft says EPA’s proposed transition timelines are too strict and that the technology it would require is difficult to install, Segall said.
EEI has previously asked the EPA to exclude these power plants from its emission-reduction rule in a series of white papers submitted to the agency.
“EEI is working with our 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,” EEI spokesperson Brian Reil said in an email. “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.”
It is also expected that the proposal would serve the White House’s goals to zero-out power sector emissions by 2035 and achieve a net-zero economy by 2050. Power plant emissions made up roughly one-quarter of the carbon emissions in the US last year, federal data shows. Electric companies have been closing older, less-efficient coal-fired plants over the past decade, and 50 EEI members have announced carbon-reduction goals, according to the lobbying group.
Edison International, owner of Southern California Edison Co, is said to have set a 2045 net-zero greenhouse gas emission goal, which aligns with California’s climate targets economy wide, according to the company’s website.
Story was adapted from the Guardian.
