Georgia Magazine - January 2015 - 16

BY CLAY ROBBINS, SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS, OGLETHORPE POWER CORP.

Clean Power Plan would have negative impact on EMC consumer power bills

eorgians who get their electric come while producing minimal posi- effectively gives zero credit for these
power from one of the 38 electric tive impact on the environment," units toward meeting the future commembership corporations (EMCs) Smith said. "We will continue to op- pliance requirements under the prosupplied by Oglethorpe Power Corp. pose the plan vigorously, and strongly posed regulation," Smith said. "This is
would see their electric bills rise sig- believe the EPA should discard it inequitable and seriously misguided."
In addition, Smith said the plan's
nificantly between 2020 and 2034 un- completely."
According to Smith, the plan un- favoring of natural gas over coal
der the Obama administration's Clean
Power Plan, according to comments fairly targets Georgia, where the plants will be expensive for all Georfiled on Dec. 1, 2014, by Oglethorpe state's utilities already reduced carbon gians. Natural gas has historically had
Power with the Environmental Pro- emissions 30 percent between 2005 the most price volatility of any of the
and 2012, and would require reduc- fuels used for power generation. Adtection Agency (EPA).
The American Coalition for Clean tions of an additional 44 percent, ditionally, there has been limited
Coal Electricity, of which Oglethorpe making Georgia the sixth most im- availability of natural gas during periPower is a member, recently pub- pacted state in the country. He said ods of extreme cold like the Polar
lished the results of a National Eco- many states that have not been as Vortex of 2014 and other severe
nomic Research Associates (NERA) proactive as Georgia are required to weather events.
"Georgia utilities have invested
study showing that the increase for do far less under the EPA proposal.
Another serious flaw in the Clean billions of dollars in coal-powered fadelivered electricity prices to Georgia
consumers would range between 12 Power Plan is its treatment of new, cilities that, under this plan, would
under-construction nuclear facilities. have to be used less or, in some cases,
and 13 percent.
Oglethorpe Power said certain Oglethorpe Power and several co- possibly shut down before the end of
scenarios in its preliminary analysis owners are constructing 2,200 mega- their useful life," he said. "This would
have yielded comparable results to watts of new nuclear generation at force us to replace coal-generated
the NERA study, and all of the sce- the Alvin W. Vogtle nuclear plant near electricity with price-volatile natural
narios analyzed showed cost increas- Waynesboro. Yet the EPA plan in- gas, reducing our ability to operate
es for the corporation. While the cludes the under-construction units in our plants in the most economical
median compliance costs for a repre- setting Georgia's performance stan- fashion and again leaving Georgia's
sentative scenario were approximate- dard as if they had already been consumers to pay the tab. Finally, the
amounts of renewable energy and enly $10 billion over a 15-year period completed and were in service.
"Despite the billions of dollars ergy efficiency required to meet the
(from 2020-2034), compliance costs
to Oglethorpe's members could reach invested by the partners in the expan- goals in the plan are unrealistic and
$20 billion under some scenarios, sion at Plant Vogtle, the EPA plan unachievable."
particularly if renewable or enUp until now, power plants
With EPA's new Clean Power Plan, life's a lot more complicated
ergy efficiency measures are
had a straightforward
mandated. Under certain sceexperience with the EPA
narios, residential consumer
bills could increase by $400 per
year if this proposal is finalized.
Oglethorpe Power President and CEO Michael L. Smith
called the estimated increases
under the Obama administration plan "outrageous" and said
EMC consumers, many of whom
live in depressed areas of the
state, are the least able to afford
the cost increases the plan
would bring.
"This proposed plan is a
complex disaster that will place
a high cost burden on millions
of Georgia residents for years to
The EPA's proposal will require every state (except one)
to reduce its CO2 intensity from the electricty sector in
that state. Different states have different goals, depending
on their specific energy mix. State compliance plans will
involve a much larger array of regulators, legislators and
regulated entities than any othe environmental regulation
to date. This chart demonstrates the complexity of
the proposal.

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Georgia Magazine - January 2015

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