WASHINGTON (May 22, 2024) — Edison Electric Institute (EEI) President and CEO Dan Brouillette issued the following statement on EEI’s decision to file a petition for review of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) final Clean Air Act Section 111 rules, as well as a motion to intervene in the proceedings.
“EEI’s member companies—America’s investor-owned electric companies—lead our nation and the world in reducing carbon emissions. We are proud that carbon emissions from the U.S. electric power sector are as low as they were nearly 50 years ago, even as electricity demand has doubled since then and is growing significantly today. We are committed to building on that progress and to continuing to meet our customers’ needs for affordable, reliable, and resilient clean energy.
“We support EPA’s authority to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, as well as the agency’s efforts to provide paths to additional carbon reductions and cleaner resources. We are intervening today to preserve our ability to defend, if needed, elements of the final 111 rules that are consistent with the ongoing clean energy transition and that do not create reliability impacts for customers.
“At the same time, we are seeking judicial review of the agency’s determination that carbon capture and storage (CCS) should be the basis for compliance with other portions of the 111 rules. EPA’s record and the docket do not support the agency’s finding that CCS is adequately demonstrated for broad deployment across our industry.
“CCS is an emerging technology, and EPA’s implementation timelines do not align with the current reality. There is not a single coal- or natural gas-based power plant operating today that meets the CCS requirements set by EPA. Throughout the rulemaking process, we repeatedly raised concerns that CCS is not yet ready for full-scale, industry-wide deployment, nor is there sufficient time to permit, finance, and build the infrastructure needed for compliance by 2032.
“Electric companies across the country are investing in CCS and other important 24/7 clean energy technologies and plan to actively deploy them when they satisfy industry performance requirements and support reliability at costs that are affordable for customers.
“We are working to meet the growing demands for electricity and to advance the nation’s clean energy goals responsibly, without jeopardizing customer affordability and reliability. Our action today is necessary to protect customers from regulations that rely on not-yet-demonstrated technology and unrealistic compliance timelines that risk undermining those goals.
“We are committed to finding solutions, but we can’t bet our energy future on a technology that is not yet ready for industry-wide deployment.”
