New Energy Project Report Details Impact of EPA Regulations

This morning, the staff of the BPC Energy Project released a new report on Environmental Regulation and Electric Sector Reliability. The report’s main findings are:

• The impacts on the reliability of the electric system due to retirements and retrofits necessary to comply with EPA regulations are manageable.
• Compliance with regulations will drive noticeable cost increases and produce significant health benefits.
• The industry and its regulators face significant planning challenges, but there are a number of tools and policies available for addressing localized reliability concerns.
• Legislation may be able to facilitate a smoother, lower cost transition without jeopardizing health and environmental protections.

Over the course of several months, the BPC hosted a series of three workshops to assess the possible impacts of regulation and identify a range of strategies for managing associated reliability concerns.

These workshops featured presentations and panel discussions by nearly 60 energy experts, including representatives of the electric utility industry, environmental organizations, labor unions, state regulators, regional transmission organizations, federal agencies, and Congressional staff. Information from all three workshops is available here.

The report’s findings and recommendations build on the expert presentations and public dialogue at these workshops, BPC’s review of a range of existing analyses, and BPC’s own analytic work.