When the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its Proposed Clean Power Plan 2.0 last month, it contained what U.S. Sens. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and John Barrasso, R-Wyo., refer to as “unjustifiable claims about the future availability of technologies — including carbon capture, clean hydrogen, and the related infrastructure — used to power our electric grids.”
Given the inclusion of such claims, it seems perfectly reasonable Capito and Barrasso would seek an analysis from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of the effect the proposal would have on the country’s electricity reliability.
“When developing the original Clean Power Plan finalized in 2015, the Obama administration itself stated that ‘comments from state, regional and federal reliability entities, power companies and others, as well as consultation with the Department of Energy and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, helped inform a number of changes made in (the) final rule to address reliability.’ At that time, EPA acknowledged that its consultations with FERC were ‘particularly important in shaping some provisions in these final guidelines,'” reads a letter from Capito and Barrasso.
Another section of the letter says “The already-strong pressure for premature retirements of electric generating units coupled with the rising risks to electric reliability require you to convene representatives of entities subject to your jurisdiction and other interested parties in order to develop a record on the potential impact of the Clean Power Plan 2.0. Without such a record, FERC’s consultations with EPA are likely to be ineffective.”
One would think federal bureaucrats confident in their proposal would have no objection to such an analysis.
In fact, it would be logical for them to jump at such an opportunity. Surely more information can be only a good thing when it comes to doing right by both our planet and the people on it, right?
If those dual objectives are not in line with the EPA’s thinking, however, Capito and Barrasso must not be surprised if, after placing the ball in FERC’s court, bureaucrats simply take that ball and go home.