The House Energy and Commerce Committee passed a resolution Wednesday to block the Environmental Protection Agency from implementing its power plant rule.
Committee members voted 23-18 along party lines to approve the resolution, with Republicans voting for it and Democrats against. It was not clear when the resolution might go before the full House for a vote.
The EPA rule, which seeks to lower carbon emissions, would “place unachievable mandates on existing coal-fired and new natural gas-fired power plants,” said Rep. Troy Balderson, R-Ohio, the lead House sponsor of the resolution.
The rule requires existing coal plants that plan to operate past the start of 2039 and new natural gas plants to capture 90% of their emissions by 2032 using unproven carbon capture and sequestration technology. The result, Balderson said, is that new gas plants won’t be built and coal plants will shut down prematurely—all as demand for electricity is skyrocketing.
“Simply put, the rule requires adoption of unproven technology to meet unachievable emissions limits on an unworkable timeline,” the congressman said as committee members considered the measure.
“The final rules will jeopardize reliability and result in more brownouts and blackouts, higher costs, and greater uncertainty for American families and businesses.”
In a recent letter to members of Congress, NRECA CEO Jim Matheson urged them to support Balderson’s resolution, which was offered under the Congressional Review Act. The CRA enables Congress to overturn actions by federal agencies within a certain time limit after the regulations are finalized.
“This isn’t a binary choice,” Matheson wrote in a June 26 letter. “We can do right by the environment while still producing the electricity America needs.
“Our co-ops do this every day as they explore carbon capture solutions, deploy microgrids and renewables, and launch demand-response programs. In fact, from 2010 to 2021, co-ops more than tripled their renewable capacity.”
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., is leading efforts to pass an identical resolution in the Senate, where it has received bipartisan support, including from Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who is in a tough race for re-election.
“This is an unrealistic, unachievable rule that could undermine grid reliability, cause job losses for energy workers, and raise energy costs for Ohioans,” Brown said in a statement denouncing the EPA rule.
However, even if both chambers of Congress pass the resolution, it would undoubtedly be vetoed by President Joe Biden since his administration issued the power plant regulation.
Erin Kelly is a staff writer for NRECA.