Electric Co-op Today

The Environmental Protection Agency’s sweeping new air toxics rule fails to provide sufficient compliance time for utilities and threatens to make electricity less affordable, NRECA CEO Glenn English said.

NRECA is concerned about the limited time that power plants have to comply with a new EPA rule on mercury emissions. (Photo By: Basin Electric Power Co-op)

EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule, the most expensive in the agency’s history, on Dec. 21.

It is aimed at emissions of mercury and hazardous air pollutants and requires utilities to use the maximum available control technology to meet new standards.

Under the rule, which runs 1,117 pages, utilities will have three years to comply, with the possibility of a fourth at the discretion of individual states. While another provision could provide additional compliance time on a case-by-case basis, English said that’s not nearly enough.

“Electric cooperatives remain concerned that the administration has chosen a path that only provides certainty to facilities if they comply within three years. This simply will not provide all facilities sufficient time to cost-effectively comply with the standards. Ultimately, consumers will bear these additional costs,” he warned.

NRECA representatives have met with officials at EPA and the Office of Management and Budget, and filed comments on the rule with EPA, urging the agency to provide more time for all utilities to meet the provisions of the rule.

Nearly 1,400 units at about 525 plants will be subject to the rule, and could require expensive new controls to continue operating and avoid fines or penalties. EPA put the cost of the final rule at about $10 billion, slightly less than its previous estimates.

Co-ops said the deadline poses special problems for small utilities that will have to compete with large utilities to secure the vendors, equipment and expertise they will need.

English said co-ops will comply with the Utility MATS rule, but will probably have to purchase power on the open market during the transition. “As not-for-profit member-owned utilities, these higher prices are directly passed onto our members in their electric bills,” he said.

Co-ops across the country will continue their efforts to install advanced emissions controls and support a multi-pollutant control project that NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network is undertaking with several G&Ts.

NRECA will continue to work with the Administration to establish reasonable compliance timelines, English added.

Kirk Johnson, NRECA senior vice president, government relations, said the association will review the complex regulations for their additional impact on co-ops.

“NRECA remains concerned that in their haste to meet the court-ordered deadline to issue the final rule, EPA did not give full consideration to the comments submitted and likely failed to resolve all of the errors and issues identified in the proposed rule,” he said.

Tags: Cooperative Research Network, Environmental Protection Agency, Hazardous Air Pollutants, Obama Administration