Yesterday, the Institute for Energy Research (IER) asked all 50 state public utility commissions to prioritize the interests of electricity ratepayers above the Obama Administration’s controversial Power Plant Rule. Already, the governors of several major states–Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Indiana, and Wisconsin–have said NO to Obama’s EPA. Kentucky might become the sixth state on this list.
Will state public-utility regulators, charged to protect consumers from unnecessary costs, seize the day and stand up? Doing so would not only help consumers but also push back against the growth of the Bootleggers-and-Baptists dynamic in electricity policy. A let-the-market-decide policy, not a let-the-feds-decide policy, is the best way to allocate electricity generation resources at the state level.
The letter, signed by IER president Tom Pyle, follows:
… Continue ReadingDear Chairman,
Recently, we witnessed a historic ruling by the Supreme Court in Michigan v.
“If fine particulates are killing one out of eight Americans, then any regulation that even slightly lowers particulate emissions is going to be hugely beneficial. And by including these co-benefits, EPA can justify virtually any regulation it wishes.”
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency hit a roadblock in its quest to enact new standards for mercury emissions from U.S. power plants. In Michigan v. EPA, the Supreme Court held that EPA had improperly refused to consider costs when it decided to regulate the mercury emissions from electric utilities under its Utility MACT (Maximum Achievable Technology Control) rule.
Coming on the heels of several Supreme Court decisions that were disappointing to conservatives, it’s not surprising that the Michigan case has been seized on as a hopeful sign in the ongoing battle between liberty and the regulatory state.…
Continue Reading“From a fuel-efficiency point, trucks deliver over 140 times the cargo as a car, but they do that while only burning about 3.5 times the amount of fuel. That would appear to be a notable achievement.”
“The trucking industry is already harnessed with the increased operating costs from new highway safety rules reducing the number of hours drivers can work each day and in a week. Increased capital investment costs will further squeeze trucking company profitability…. [P]repare for higher costs of all those products you purchase.”
The Obama administration’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) has proposed regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from heavy-duty trucks, requiring that their fuel economy increase up to 40 percent by 2027 compared to baseline 2010 actuals. This is the next step in heavy-duty vehicle fuel economy efforts begun in 2011.…
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