WASHINGTON – Late last week, EPA finalized the Utility MACT (“Maximum Achievable Control Technology”) rule for coal-fueled power plants. In response, President and CEO of the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity, Steve Miller, released the following statement:
“The EPA is out of touch with the hard reality facing American families and businesses. This latest rule will destroy jobs, raise the cost of energy and could even make electricity less reliable.
“Coal helps make electricity affordable for families and businesses. Unfortunately, this new rule is likely to be the most expensive rule ever imposed on coal-fueled power plants which are responsible for providing affordable electricity. We will study the new rule carefully. If this final rule is as bad as the one EPA proposed earlier, Congress will need to step in. People’s jobs, their family budgets and their access to affordable electricity are at stake.”
An analysis for ACCCE by National Economic Research Associates (NERA) found that the proposed Utility MACT rule and other pending EPA regulations would destroy an average of 183,000 jobs every year from 2012- 2020 and increase electricity and other energy prices by $170 billion. The NERA analysis also found that the average American household would have $270 less to spend each year because of new EPA regulations. According to EPA’s own analysis, the Utility MACT regulation could cost more than $100 billion.
The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) is committed to the idea that America can have the affordable, reliable electricity we need, with the clean environment we want. ACCCE’s Behind the Plug blog is the place for up-to-date news and analysis on clean coal technology developments and energy policy progress.
[...] As our President and CEO Steve Miller pointed out immediately after the EPA finalized Utility MACT, “we will study this rule carefully” and “if this final rule is as bad as the one EPA proposed earlier, Congress will need to step in.” [...]