CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A national consumer group urged Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and state lawmakers to keep consumers in mind when fashioning a state response under the federal EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
Representatives of the Consumer Energy Alliance spent last week in West Virginia meeting with supporters and lobbying policymakers.
“There’s a lot of reason to worry,” CEA vice president of state affairs Brydon Ross said. “Especially with the large-scale shutdown of coal-fired power plants across the country and what it means to jobs down in the coalfields.”
The EPA’s rule, scheduled to go into effect soon, requires states to rollback emission limits and submit a plan on how that’s going to happen. The rule is based on four building blocks, and Ross said the EPA only has authority in one of the areas.
“The EPA is in unchartered territory and we would encourage regulators and politicians to fight for your state and fight for a plan that works in your state and keep consumers in mind when you’re doing it,” Ross said.
The CEA is concerned about the Clean Power Plan costing consumers $41 billion annually in electric rates linked to compliance costs. The group also warns about a lack of reliable service.
“When you flip the light on is it going to come on?” Ross said.
A recent study from the U.S. Energy Information Administration said 90 gigawatts of coal will come offline because of the Clean Power Plan between now and 2040.
“When you are taking that much energy off the grid what are going to replace it with?” Ross asked. “Those are the issues we think about.”