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EPA Rules May Lead Utilities to Retire Coal Plants, Study Shows
2010-10-26 18:16:32.272 GMT
By Kim Chipman
Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- Obama administration rules now being
considered may erode the reliability of the U.S. electric power
grid and force utilities to retire or upgrade plants, the North
American Electric Reliability Corp. said today in a report.
The Environmental Protection Agency is reviewing four rules
that may "significantly impact" planning-reserve margins,
which measure the amount of generation capacity available to
meet expected demand, according to the report. The rules may
trim as much as 19 percent of fossil fuel-fired steam capacity
in the U.S. by 2018, according to the study by the Princeton,
New Jersey-based group.
Criticism of possible EPA air and water measures follows
comments by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that EPA rules actions
are causing businesses to curtail new investment or expansion
plans. Obama administration officials said today's report is
misleading.
"We have been working to ensure the regulations don't
impact the grid in any substantial way," Jon Wellinghoff,
chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that
regulates U.S. wholesale power markets, said in an interview.
Brendan Gilfillan, an EPA spokesman, said the rules at
issue are still being crafted.
NERC bases its predictions on "future regulations that
haven't even been proposed yet," Gilfillan said in a statement.
"Despite the fact that the substance of those rules
remains open to a range of possible outcomes, this report only
assumes the worst-case scenarios."
NERC sets reliability standards for power lines that
provide electricity in the U.S., Canada and part of Mexico.
For Related News and Information:
Top EPA Stories: TNI TOP EPA <GO>
Top Electricity News: TNI TOP ELC <GO>
Top U.S. Regulation News: TNI TOP USREG <GO>
--Editors: Steve Geimann, Romaine Bostick
To contact the reporter on this story:
Kim Chipman in Washington at +1-202-624-1927 or
kchipman@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Larry Liebert at +1-202-624-1936 or
lliebert@bloomberg.net
