What is the EPA up to?
EPA bureaucrats have proposed new rules placing strict limits on the amount of carbon dioxide emissions from power plants. These regulations rely on the use of expensive and unproven carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology.
“The EPA believes that CCS is a commercial technology, and it is not. It simply has not been proven on a large scale,” says Ron Calcaterra, CEO of Central Electric Power Cooperative, the wholesale supplier of electricity to your local coop.
According to the EPA’s own analysis, these regulations will effectively eliminate construction of new coal-fired power plants. When applied nationally to existing power plants, EPA’s new policy could drive up the cost of generating electricity by 75 percent, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office.
How will this affect S.C. co-op members?
Almost 60 percent of the electricity distributed by your cooperative comes from coal-fired plants. The effect on South Carolina consumers would be devastating.
“It could be less expensive for us to tear down those coal plants and build new plants,” Calcaterra says.
Replacing South Carolina’s existing coal-fired plants with a 50-50 mix of new natural gas and nuclear facilities would still be costly to electricity consumers, according to his estimates. “The total cost of that would increase bills by about 50 percent, if not more,” he says.
What can co-op members do?
Visit sc.tellepa.com and join your local electric cooperative. Let EPA bureaucrats know that their plan has serious consequences for South Carolina and our economy. Without input from co-op members, Calcaterra says, “the decision will be influenced by people who have other agendas.”