By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed a new rule directing that previously grandfathered in coal powered electricity generating plants comply with the Federal government’s new program to limit the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) being emitted.
Congress, in 2010, refused to pass legislation to regulate carbon emissions. Since such legislation had no chance of passing a Republican controlled House of Representatives President Obama has since claimed that he has the unilateral power to order the EPA to write rules regulating CO2. The Alabama Public Service Commission (PSC) has said that the new rule being proposed for power plants would cost Alabama Power over a $Billion in compliance costs and would raise the electricity costs for everyone in the State of Alabama, this, while other countries are building new coal powered electricity plants nullifying whatever theoretical environmental benefits would be achieved by this regulation.
Place 1 PSC Commissioner Jeremy Oden (R) testified recently before the EPA opposing the new rule. Commissioner Oden said that the EPA has overstepped the bounds of the Clean Air Act and hinted at a future legal challenge if EPA goes forward with this rule.
Commissioner Oden asked why are we decreasing our energy production in this country while other countries are increasing their energy production and they are doing it in ways that are cost effective, building new nuclear and coal fired power plants.
