BELLEFONTE – U.S. Rep. Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5) has joined with nearly 100 fellow Members of Congress in sending a letter to President Obama to express concerns regarding the proposed rule announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on June 2, entitled “Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units.”
“The EPA’s new rule on electric power generation is yet another unworkable policy from the Obama Administration that will threaten America’s access to affordable and reliable energy,” stated Thompson.
“While protecting the environment is a shared goal, this must be attained realistically and not by burdening families with rate hikes and potential brownouts. It is my hope the Obama Administration will rescind this rule and work with Congress on a bipartisan basis to address the concerns that we have put forward.”
In the letter, the Members assert the rule would negatively impact the nation’s ability to reliably generate and transmit electric power sources.
“Due to market factors and existing environmental requirements, significant power plant shutdowns are already underway across the country, and these closures raise concerns about the continued reliability of the grid and electricity rates in the absence of EPA’s recently proposed rule. Under the proposed rule, EPA projects there would be additional power plant retirements and electricity rate increases,” the letter states.
If this were to occur, the Members stress, it would “threaten electricity reliability and drive up energy costs for consumers, including the elderly, poor, and those on fixed incomes, at a time when over 50 million Americans are currently living in poverty.”
The Members conclude the letter by recognizing that although some of their own views may vary on the statutory authority of the regulations they are “all concerned that this rule is simply unworkable as proposed and, if finalized, would effectively give EPA control over a state’s generation, supply, and consumption of power. Accordingly, we respectfully ask that you direct the EPA to withdraw its proposed rule.”
The full letter can be accessed by clicking here.