ARLINGTON, Va. – National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO Jim Matheson today issued the following statement thanking the Trump administration for its proposals to repeal the Environmental Protection Agency’s power plant rule and mercury and air rule.
“These Biden-era EPA power sector rules are unlawful, unrealistic and unachievable. And they will jeopardize the reliability of the electric grid for as long as they remain in effect,” Matheson said. “Today’s announcements are a welcome course correction that will help electric co-ops reliably meet skyrocketing energy needs and keep the lights on at a cost local families and businesses can afford.
“These rules force power plants into premature retirement and handcuff how often new natural gas plants can run. Both of them are textbook examples of a bad energy policy that compounds today’s reliability challenges. We deeply appreciate the Trump administration’s recognition that these rules are unlawful, threaten American families and businesses and should be swiftly repealed.”
NRECA and its members object to the existing power plant rule because it exceeds EPA’s authority, disregards prior Supreme Court decisions, and requires the use of inadequately demonstrated carbon capture and storage technology.
The mercury and air rule is a costly mandate with no appreciable health benefits that will result in the premature retirement of some coal-fired units that are critical to electric reliability.
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association is the national trade association representing nearly 900 local electric cooperatives. From growing suburbs to remote farming communities, electric co-ops serve as engines of economic development for 42 million Americans across 56 percent of the nation’s landscape. As local businesses built by the consumers they serve, electric cooperatives have meaningful ties to rural America and invest $15 billion annually in their communities.
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