Rumors about new Environmental Protection Agency regulations designed to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions from existing power plants had been swirling around the Washington Beltway for months, and the general fear was that the new rules would hurt electricity consumers—a lot.
As with any federal regulatory scheme, things weren’t that simple, of course. When EPA officials announced their proposal on June 2, the true details of the plan were spelled out in 645 pages of fine print. After a thorough analysis of that document, I see a classic bad‑news/good‑news situation for South Carolina.
First, the bad news: States will not share the burden of reducing emissions equally. By the EPA’s own estimates, power plants in South Carolina must decrease the ratio of carbon dioxide emitted to electricity produced by 51 percent. Whether you agree or disagree with the policy of reducing emissions, it’s going to cost a lot of money to achieve that goal, and every penny of that cost to cooperatives will ultimately be passed along to you.
The good news: The EPA will allow each state to develop its own implementation plan—a process that will allow your electric cooperatives to work collaboratively with state agencies, power generators, investor-owned utilities and environmental groups to find creative, commonsense solutions.
The proposed regulations will be released in a final (and perhaps modified) form on June 1, 2015. Between now and then, you’re going to hear a lot about them. Your electric cooperatives are committed to keeping you informed, and we’ll advocate on your behalf at every turn. We’ve been tracking this issue for a long time, and we’re already working with the South Carolina congressional delegation to make sure the president and EPA officials understand how these proposed rules will impact the people of South Carolina.
When the EPA begins public hearings on the regulations later this month, South Carolina co-op leaders will be there speaking on your behalf. Our message will not be one of opposition. Why show up with a “just say no” response to an existing federal law? Instead, we will advocate for a plan that fairly impacts all states and is based on practical and achievable goals.
We’ve also reached out to state officials, our wholesale power suppliers and other stakeholders with a pledge to do our part in developing a sound state implementation plan when the rules are finalized. It’s vital that co-ops have a seat at the table when these decisions are made. Cooperatives are a network of not-for-profit, member-owned utilities serving 1.5 million people in all 46 counties. Their bottom line is member satisfaction.
If adopted, the EPA rules will allow power producers to choose to make what I call “inside the fence” changes to upgrade power plants, and maybe even build new ones. That’s going to be expensive, but as a large wholesale purchaser of electricity, co-ops will work diligently with suppliers to ensure any plant changes they make are cost effective.
Ultimately, South Carolina’s electric cooperatives have an even greater role to play in bringing what I call “outside the fence” solutions to the table—ideas that make sense for consumers regardless of what the power plants do in response to the EPA:
- Whole-house efficiency programs to help families use less electricity and keep bills low
- Innovative programs that allow homes and businesses to voluntarily reduce their power consumption during expensive peak hours
- Appliance upgrade programs that incentivize homeowners to install more-efficient devices
- Offering consumers the option to purchase “green power” generated from renewable resources
- Finding equitable ways to help homeowners and businesses incorporate distributed energy resources such as rooftop solar panels into the power grid
- Exploring new storage and distribution technologies that allow us to deliver reliable electricity at the most affordable rates
The even better news: These are just some of the initiatives South Carolina’s electric cooperatives already have in motion.
If the EPA regulations announced in June take effect, the energy landscape in America will change dramatically, but one thing that will never change is our commitment to members. We’re on the case, and we’re looking out for you.