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Supreme Court Puts Hold on EPA Clean Power Plan

Electric cooperatives said they welcome the U.S. Supreme Court’s Feb. 9 decision to block the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan until all legal challenges to it are resolved.

Supreme-Court-1The Supreme Court has blocked the Obama administration’s climate change rules from taking effect, pending further litigation. (Photo By: Steven Johnson)
“Charging ahead with implementation of the Clean Power Plan would have caused immediate and irreparable harm to America’s electric co-ops,” said NRECA interim CEO Jeffrey Connor.

“Had the stay not been granted, co-ops would have been forced to take costly and irreversible steps to comply with the rule, which is a huge overreach of EPA’s legal authority. The Clean Power Plan is a direct threat to co-ops’ ability to provide affordable and reliable electricity to their member consumers and should be erased from the books.”

Under the 5-4 order, the Clean Power Plan is on hold until the Supreme Court either takes up the case and issues a final decision, or denies a request to hear an appeal.

That means a final resolution might not come until 2017. A federal  appeals court is scheduled to take up arguments on the case in June.

Basin Electric Power Cooperative petitioned the Supreme Court Jan. 27 to stay the Clean Power Plan after a federal appeals court rejected pleas to halt the rule. NRECA, 38 electric co-ops and other utility interests joined the petition.

The order, issued without explanation, responds to a similar request filed by 29 states and industry interests. Legal analysts noted that it is unusual for the court to issue such a stay when a regulation has been finalized, indicating the court has doubts about the plan’s legality.

The Clean Power Plan sets carbon dioxide limits for each state to achieve an overall emissions reduction of 32 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. The rule’s compliance period was set to begin in 2022. It is aimed at fossil-fuel generation.

NRECA has estimated that total compliance costs for electric co-ops could reach as much as $28 billion.

An appeals court is scheduled to hear arguments in June.

By Cathy Cash | ECT Staff WriterPublished: February 10th, 2016

February 10, 2016

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