US Utilities Challenge EPA's Carbon Emission Rules

The Edison Electric Institute, representing US investor-owned utilities, is contesting new EPA rules mandating carbon capture for coal and gas plants, arguing the technology is unproven. The move aligns EEI with 27 Republican attorneys general and rural electric cooperatives in a prolonged legal battle.

The trade group representing investor-owned US utilities on Wednesday announced it is joining litigation to challenge new federal rules that aim to slash carbon emissions from existing coal and new gas power plants. The Edison Electric Institute said while it supports the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from the power sector, its members oppose the EPA's determination that carbon capture and sequestration technology should be the "basis for compliance" with the regulation.

KEY QUOTE "EPA’s record and the docket do not support the agency’s finding that CCS is adequately demonstrated for broad deployment across our industry," EEI President Dan Brouillette said. CONTEXT

The long-awaited final power plant rules released last month by President Joe Biden's administration effectively require coal-fired power plants and new natural gas-fired plants to install equipment in the coming decade to capture emissions before they reach the atmosphere. This forces generators to decide whether to install the costly technology or to switch to zero-emissions alternatives like solar and wind. The EPA had dropped hydrogen as a compliance basis from its initial proposal. At the time, the EEI said it did not think CCS infrastructure could be built in time for companies to comply with the rule by 2032.

WHAT'S NEXT? EEI has joined Republican attorneys general from 27 states in the litigation, as well as the lobby group for rural electric cooperatives. It filed its motion to intervene in the D.C. Circuit as a first step in the legal process, which could take years.