FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 7, 2023
CONTACT: Christina Nyquist | 603.930.8818 | cnyquist@epsa.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules to drastically limit power plant emissions will lead to the closure or reduced operations of critical electric power resources, said the Electric Power Supply Association in comments submitted to the EPA August 5, 2023. EPSA’s comments come as grid operators nationwide, energy regulators, policymakers, and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation have all warned that the rate of retiring fossil power generation is outpacing demand and could lead to outages.
EPSA, which represents competitive power suppliers providing about 20% of the nation’s electricity from all types of energy sources, submitted the comments in response to the May 23, 2023 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) issued by the EPA entitled New Source Performance Standards for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and Reconstructed Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Existing Fossil Fuel-Fired Electric Generating Units; and Repeal of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule.
“We understand the desire to reduce emissions economy-wide, but policies to do so cannot jeopardize Americans’ access to reliable and cost-effective electricity,” said EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler. “Our comments detail the continued need for dispatchable natural gas-powered generation to balance intermittent renewables and keep the system running. We also enumerate the many factors that must be considered when it comes to grid reliability and the energy transition. A more electrified economy, extreme weather, and political and logistical hurdles to building lower emission technology all show we are going to need more – not less. We will need all types of technology and resources to power the nation’s cleaner energy future,” he continued.
“EPSA’s member companies are building low and zero-emitting power generation resources while maintaining the assets needed to provide reliable service. We continue to support the use of competitive power markets and other market-based policies and cost-effective approaches to continue investment and innovation in America’s power grid while prioritizing reliability. We call on the EPA to engage with stakeholders and address the reliability challenges posed by this rule,” Snitchler concluded.
In its comments, EPSA recommends that if EPA goes forward with the proposed rules it should:
- Recognize the significant differences between dispatchable and non-dispatchable resources and their impact on electric reliability;
- Recognize the challenges to building a carbon reduction (CCS and hydrogen cofiring) industry from the ground up and provide a more realistic and expanded compliance timeframe;
- Appreciate why this proposal to reduce emissions from the generator sector is unlike past power plant rulemakings which based regulations on available technology and existing infrastructure; and
- Consider providing a model trading rule that allows markets to establish an economy-wide, technology-neutral carbon price would be a more efficient way to achieve desired emission reductions.
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The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) is the national trade association representing America’s competitive power suppliers. EPSA members provide about 150,000 MW of reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities using a diverse mix of fuels and technologies including natural gas, wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, storage, biomass, and coal. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers. Learn more at www.epsa.org and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter @EPSAnews.
