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Energy prices are set to soar and electricity shortages may be on the horizon as the EPA pushes for drastic emissions reductions and threatens our coal-fired power plants. While the agency claims that its proposal will help our environment, industry experts warn of the obvious scam. 

The EPA’s new proposal is a direct hit on the American worker and the economy. The plan not only threatens energy grids’ reliability but also puts businesses that rely on affordable energy at risk of shuttering their doors for good. 

Here’s the EPA administrator announcing the new environmental regulations

Additionally, large natural gas facilities will be required to capture 90% of emissions using CCS by 2035 or convert to burning 96% hydrogen by volume by 2038. Smaller natural gas-fired plants could comply by burning more effective forms of natural gas. However, all of these changes come at a steep price – higher energy costs for every American household, which is predicted to be a modest increase in electricity prices by 2030, before leveling off by 2040.

Moreover, the EPA is underestimating the cost of implementation by companies, as it is likely to reach hundreds of billions of dollars for both coal and natural gas industries. It is hard to justify how the EPA’s proposed rule can bring $85 billion in public health and climate benefits by 2042 while costing companies only $14 billion. At the same time, families and businesses will be the ones severely impacted by higher energy costs.

According to the EPA, the rule expects to see a significant decline in coal and natural gas production by 2040, by 15% and 2%, respectively. This would not be a successful transition from dirty to renewable energy but rather a disastrous and precipitous transition, leaving the US dependent on foreign sources for electricity and energy.

The agency also anticipates some coal plants will retire as a result of the proposal, but grid operators warn that premature retirements jeopardize grid reliability. The plan is a significant threat to all Americans, as energy security is paramount in matters of economics and national security. 

Grid operators and North American Electric Reliability Corporation have issued warnings for more than two years about potential electricity shortages due to retirement of coal plants and other dispatchable electricity sources.

The coal trade organizations are not alone in their opposition to the proposal. Steve Milloy, a former Trump EPA transition advisor, criticized the rule for overstepping the EPA’s bounds under the Clean Air Act (CAA). This regulation, combined with proposed rules limiting tailpipe emissions, represents a dangerous trend at the EPA.

The EPA’s proposal presents a real and immediate danger to the economic well-being of the United States. It is unfathomable to see the EPA putting energy security at risk while rolling out costly regulations aimed at stripping Americans of access to cheap and reliable energy. The agency is trying to push an agenda at the cost of the American worker and our businesses. It is imperative that Americans know what is happening and remain vigilant in protecting our way of life. This kind of overreach on the part of the EPA is unacceptable. The time has come to support traditional energy resources and reign in the EPA’s radical agenda.

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