Expensive Clean Power Plan to be replaced with Affordable Clean Energy
Burdensome Obama-era rules that would have sent electricity rates soaring are on the way out, and that’s fantastic news for small business owners. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last month gave final approval to an Affordable Clean Energy rule that drops unnecessary mandates and costly red tape that was supposed to trim the carbon dioxide output of power plants – at a cost to the economy of $33 billion.
“Small business runs on affordable energy,” said Karen Harned, Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Foundation. “Eliminating unnecessary electricity costs is good for customers and the economy as a whole.”
Our members have made it clear that energy costs are one of their top issues of concern, so NFIB has been fighting alongside 24 states and numerous industry groups since the previous administration adopted the Clean Power Plan in 2015. It would have required the power sector to slash carbon dioxide levels 32% by 2030 — an unrealistic and phenomenally pricey feat to pull off. The current administration’s Affordable Clean Energy Rule replaces the top-down mandates with more flexible rules for emissions that focus on the use of realistic technologies to achieve meaningful reductions at a reasonable cost. NFIB has been an advocate for repealing the Obama-era rule. NFIB has been an advocate for repealing the Obama-era rule. It also lets states establish operating and maintenance best practices that will measurably improve performance. The bottom line is the rule represents less micromanagement from Washington, better power plant performance, and lower electricity rates.
The issue is not entirely put to rest just yet. California, Oregon, Washington, Iowa, Colorado, and New York are threatening a court challenge, which could delay the replacement rule’s implementation for some time.
