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State Agency Criticizes Proposed EPA Rules

Proposed Environmental Protection Agency rules aimed at reducing carbon emissions, generating more energy from renewables, and addressing global warming are getting a cold reception from one of the state's most influential agencies. While environmental groups support the regulations, others contend that they're much too burdensome, unrealistic, and aggressive.

Environmental issues are often debated along party lines, but before the nonpartisan State Corporation Commission submitted comments about the EPA's Clean Power Plan, it first conducted an extensive study and cost analysis. The SCC’s Ken Schrad says the plan calls for replacing some of today's electricity generation, but Virginia power companies have already begun a massive overhaul based on current EPA rules. 

“Even what the utilities already have planned is going to have a significant cost to rate payers.”

Schrad says utilities must project over 15 to 20 years how much power they need to generate based on current facilities, but the EPA rules mandate the retirement of coal-fired plants.

“Perhaps it has been identified for shutdown; you have to have something to replace that power to make sure the lights stay on.”

The SCC says the EPA’s own models reveal that before 2020 in Virginia, 2,851 megawatts of fossil-fuel generation would be retired and replaced by ONLY 351 megawatts of offshore wind power.  It says complying with the rules would cost Dominion Virginia Power alone 5.5 to 6 billion dollars, which would be passed on to consumers’ electric bills.

The EPA has given other stakeholders until December 1st to respond to the proposed regulations.

Tommie McNeil is a State Capitol reporter who has been covering Virginia and Virginia politics for more than a decade. He originally hails from Maryland, and also doubles as the evening anchor for 1140 WRVA in Richmond.
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