The failure of the U.S. Congress to pass climate legislation has left state regulators in a tricky situation, according to the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC).
The group says the EPA’s plant-by-plant regulation of greenhouse gas emissions is not the best approach for curtailing emissions. That’s why the group supports the passage of federal legislation.
"We are facing very large decisions right now about the future of the fossil energy utility fleet. To make fully informed decisions, we need to know what the future of greenhouse gas regulation will be," Ron Binz, who heads the climate task force of NARUC, told the New York Times.
Fortunately, the current economic downturn has provided a bit of a buffer, as electricity demand is not expected to return to 2007 levels for a number of years. This means the need for new power plants is not as pressing, and regulators have more time to figure out what the future of their states’ generation plans will look like.
Read the full article a the link below.
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