EnergyEnvironmentOCPAState

Pruitt, Small: EPA’S Clean Power Plan Is Wrong For States

EPA’S clean power plan is wrong for states
By Scott Pruitt and Jonathan Small

Imagine a rule that raises the cost of electricity, hurts the most poor among us, cuts domestic jobs and results in a dramatic re-shaping of the American electricity system. Now imagine that this rule was never voted on by Congress.

This is the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan, a rule that undercuts the states’ abilities to manage their own power grid and will raise the cost of energy dramatically.

Those hurt most by the Clean Power Plan will be the most vulnerable among us-the poor, the single mothers, the elderly and minorities. Households earning less than $10,000 per year spend an astounding 60-80 percent of income on energy costs, and those earning between $10,000 and $30,000 per year spend greater than 20 percent of their income on energy. It is no surprise that the inability to pay utility bills is a leading cause of homelessness in U.S. The EPA’s proposed rule could increase the typical household’s annual electricity and natural gas bills by $680, or 35 percent, by 2020, escalating each year thereafter as EPA regulations grow more stringent, according to a study by Energy Venture Analysis.

While cost of energy will certainly be impacted, the reliability of our states’ power grid is also threatened. When federal regulators mandate that states use more renewable energy sources, nuclear or hydro-electric power than -fossil-fuel fired power the state’s infrastructure may not be prepared for the fuel switch.

Read the complete story on thehill.com

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