Cooperative Living August 2014 - 4

GUEST EDITORIAL by Jack Reasor
Let's Reduce Carbon Emissions
without Hurting Average Americans
The EPA's proposed regulations on greenhouse gases are overly aggressive, requiring
reductions in emissions before the technologies necessary to achieve them are commercially
available. And once enacted, these regulations will likely force the closing of many coal-fired
power plants, reducing reliability and increasing electric bills for millions of Americans.
T
here is an issue before us that we
believe may increase the bill of
every electric consumer in this
country. On June 2, 2014, the
U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) proposed regulations that
would require states to cut carbon dioxide
(CO2) emissions from existing power
plants by an average of 30 percent below
2005 levels nationally, and do so by
2030. In its current form, each state has
been given the responsibility to achieve this
mandate by developing a plan to submit to
the EPA for approval by June 30, 2016.
The EPA has proposed four areas that
presumably provide flexibility to the states
to reach this very aggressive reduction.
However, there are serious legal, technical,
and economic issues associated with these
mandates. What this proposal will ultimately
require, though, is a move away from
" base-load " coal generation, without a
reasonable, cost-effective, technically feasible
and reliable way to fully replace it.
( " Base-load " power plants are those that
are available all day, every day.)
These proposed regulations come on the
heels of other EPA regulations governing
CO2 emissions standards for new power
plants, which would only be achievable
through the installation of costly, unproven
technology to " capture " and store carbon
emissions, and that eliminate the possibility
of any new coal plants being built.
Virginia's 13 electric cooperatives serve
about 600,000 homes and businesses -
or about 1.5 million people - and our mis2
not-for-profit
utilities, cooperatives would be
forced to pass along any increased costs
to our members, including the very ones
who could least afford to pay.
Please make no mistake: We support
strong and reasonable environmental laws
and regulations, but we also support keeping
power costs as low as possible for our
member-consumers. And while we're determined
to do everything possible to achieve
this difficult but doable balance, we
believe that the EPA's proposals call for too
much, too quickly.
In order to achieve the ambitious reduction
in Virginia, the EPA proposals will surely
prompt tough decisions to close more
coal-fired power plants, including ones that
have already made significant financial
investments in efficiency and pollution controls
to meet other regulations. While utilities
have continued to invest in natural gasfired
power generation, renewable energy
sources, and energy efficiency measures,
we cannot replace base-load coal generation
for the foreseeable future.
Yet, if too many plants are closed, then
sion has always been, and remains, to provide
reliable electricity to our members at
the lowest reasonable cost, in a safe and
environmentally responsible way. The
majority of cooperative service territories
are rural, and many low- and middleincome
Virginians live in these areas. As
it could well reduce our base-load capacity
to dangerous levels. Our base-load
capacity is an indication of how much of
our need for power is being supplied by
base-load power plants. Electric generating
plants powered by coal, natural gas,
water (hydropower), and nuclear fuels are
examples of base-load plants. Without
enough base-load units, the reliability of
our electrical system could be jeopardized,
especially if we experience extremely cold
Cooperative Living/August 2014

Cooperative Living August 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living August 2014