Beech Tree News Network

President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must rethink its proposed Clean Power Plan which imposes drastic new greenhouse gas rules for electricity generating power plants. If Congress cannot find a way to stop the EPA, electric utilities that are already struggling to keep up with the growing residential and commercial demand for electricity will be forced to shutter dozens of plants. Too many plants being retired at once will likely lead to volatile and unexpected price spikes for consumers in the years to come. Simply put, the Obama administration’s greenhouse gas regulations will only make our electricity supply less diverse, less reliable, and more expensive. Targeting the coal industry and the power industry, which rely on coal, will make it virtually impossible for states like Kentucky to serve all of its residents with affordable electricity, create jobs, and grow the economy. Kentucky has a moratorium on nuclear, and its large hydro has maxed out; thus, if coal is eventually removed, that leaves only  natural gas and renewable energy sources to meet our future electrical growth. 
If the Obama administration’s plan goes forward, we will see massive new layers of regulation and vast new bureaucracies assigned to regulating electricity supplies. The plan will give the EPA unprecedented bureaucratic power to dictate to Americans just how and when we can use electricity. The really regrettable aspect of this is that the proposed EPA greenhouse gas regulations, piled on top of previous regulations that are not yet fully implemented, i.e. the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, will have no discernible effect on air quality. Over the last 25 years, the United States has made great strides in cleaning up the air we breathe, which meant it took time. When given time, Americans have shown we can do just about anything through research and development of technological advancements. If you do not believe what I say, call up a video of the air quality in China and compare it to ours.
The currently proposed regulations require limits on new coal fired generation that NO technology can meet; thus, no company (including TVA) will build another coal plant anytime soon. An alternative would be for the federal government to approve a standardized coal plant which has the latest and greatest technology; moreover, the standard should be revisited every 10 years to modify the design according to technological improvements. This method of creating an approved standard for nuclear power plants has already been accomplished by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The EPA issues standards for automobiles that CAN be met in due time; hence, they do not issue automobile standards requiring automobiles to get 100 mpg. 

Warren RECC has an award-winning record of supporting renewable energy and that will not change. However, we believe that we need all resources to meet growing demand into the next decade. In January 2014, the extreme cold temperatures pushed the electric grid to the limit. It took all resources just to keep the heat and lights on. To create rules which eliminates one of the top energy technologies is foolish and appears to be a political knee-jerk reaction to an ideology. It took approximately six generations to construct the electrical grid we have today. We must be very careful not to make rash decisions which could create more problems than which we set out to solve. The electrical grid is the largest machine ever built by man; and, like a large ship, it does not turn quickly without ramifications. I am speaking of the concern for the public in keeping the lights on and at an affordable price. Because this is a national issue, I encourage you to visit www.TellEPA.com and send a message to the EPA that we need to balance our country’s energy needs with environmental concerns. The EPA will close the comment period on December 1, 2014, so please do not delay in making your voice heard.
All Kentuckians – not just policy makers and political elites – must fully grasp the dire implications of the new EPA plan if we are to have any hope of crafting a more sensible way going forward that preserves our environment without sacrificing our economy.

Sincerely,

W. Scott Ramsey
President and Chief Executive Officer
Warren Rural Electric Cooperative Corporation
www.wrecc.com