The Obama Administration’s Clean Power Plan, which will drive up energy costs for businesses and customers, is currently caught up in the courts thanks to NFIB’s efforts against the rule. And President Trump signed an executive order to have the EPA reconsider or rollback the plan. But that doesn’t mean the policies implemented by the order are dead yet. Fast Company reports that some states are looking to continue abiding by the restrictive policies of the Clean Power Plan by implementing them at the state level.
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Virginia has already taken steps to adopt the energy policies; on May 16, Gov. Terry McAuliffe signed Executive Directive 11, mandating the development of a regulatory framework to reduce carbon emissions.
NFIB has long opposed the Clean Power Plan on the grounds that it would make electricity more expensive, hurting small businesses and their customers.
“We are extremely pleased by the President’s focus on bringing down the cost of energy, including traditional sources of energy,” said NFIB president and CEO Juanita Duggan in a statement. “We are especially pleased by his decision to reconsider the Clean Power rule, which is an unnecessary expansion of the EPA’s power that would have sharply increased electricity costs.”
So far, only California, Virginia, and members of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative have implemented or begun implementation of cap-and-trade policies. Experts say that more states are considering adopting similar policies, due in large part to the Clean Power Plan.
“The whole country began preparing to comply with the standards,” said Jordan Stutt, a policy analyst at the Acadia Center, according to Fast Company. “And most states were looking at how a RGGI model – a cap-and-trade model – might work in their state.”
“Small businesses rely heavily on affordable, reliable electricity,” Duggan said. “The EPA Clean Power rule is a double-barrel threat: It would drive up small business operating expenses and it would hit their customers in the wallet. Higher costs and lower consumer demand is a recipe for slower growth.”
Related:
Supreme Court Stays Obama’s Clean Power Plan
