Washington, D.C. – This week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the repeal of the 2024 Carbon Rule and proposed rescinding federal greenhouse gas standards for fossil-fueled power plants. These actions are important steps toward preserving reliable, affordable electricity as demand continues to grow. America’s Power and its members commend these actions. Below is a sampling of their comments.
Peabody Energy — Jim Grech, President and CEO
“As the nation faces rising electricity demand, EPA’s actions to repeal the Carbon Rule, which required unproven and uneconomical technology, and its proposal to rescind the Endangerment Finding, represent important steps toward restoring a more commonsense energy policy for our country. I commend DOE, EPA, and the Trump Administration for recognizing the critical role of reliable, dispatchable, and affordable energy.”
Core Natural Resources — Jimmy Brock, Chairman and CEO
“With Sunday’s announcement, the Trump Administration has taken yet another commonsense step towards ensuring reliable, affordable electricity for all Americans and a secure, resilient power grid for the U.S. economy. The President understands that we cannot afford to cede control of America’s energy, industrial and technology future to our competitors on the world stage, and thus – with the support of Administrator Zeldin and the rest of his team – continues to chart a path towards U.S. energy dominance, with abundant American coal as a central component.”
Alliance Resource Partners
“Alliance Resource Partners applauds the groundbreaking regulatory actions announced today and commends the bold leadership of the Trump administration. Today’s actions help to remove senseless regulatory burdens that were forcing the premature closure of critical power infrastructure. Protecting the electric generating fleet is a national security priority and the key to ensuring affordable and reliable power for Kentucky and the nation.”
Oglethorpe Power
“Yesterday, the EPA righted a wrong for the American people when it repealed the deeply flawed Power Plant Rule… the [Carbon] Rule would have forced the closure of reliable coal generation assets when the U.S. needs energy capacity more than ever. Bad policy met the rule of law yesterday and the people of America are better for it today.”
East Kentucky Power Cooperative — Don Mosier, President and CEO
“By striking down these regulations, Administrator Lee Zeldin and the U.S. EPA are protecting the reliability and affordability of electricity for America’s homes, businesses and industries. These rules were designed to raise costs and drive reliable power plants into retirement, so our cooperative thanks EPA for acting responsibly to repeal them.”
Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives — Tom Alban, Vice President of Power Generation
“Before this week, the [Carbon] rule posed a significant threat to co-ops’ ability to deliver on that commitment by mandating technology that was not only unproven, but also commercially unavailable, forcing existing power plants into early retirement. Thanks to the administration’s decision, Ohio co-op members will continue receiving affordable and reliable electricity.”
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation — Vernon “Buddy” Hasten, President and CEO
“Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation (AECC) is grateful to the Environmental Protection Agency and Administrator Lee Zeldin for his leadership in the repeal of the Carbon Rule. The EPA’s 2024 Carbon Pollution Standards imposed unrealistic requirements, such as the use of carbon capture and storage technology, which is extremely expensive and lacks sufficient evidence of its effectiveness. Regulations of this magnitude affect Arkansas families, businesses and the communities that we serve. These efforts ensure our cooperative members are not burdened by the high costs, unrealistic timelines and requirements that relied on technology that is not available at the scale and pace required to produce environmental benefits. AECC remains committed to responsible practices without placing unnecessary burdens on our member-consumers and businesses. We believe the path forward should be based on sound science, technological feasibility, economic reality and a commitment to keeping America’s energy system reliable, affordable and responsible.”
Big Rivers Electric Cooperative — Don Gulley, President and CEO
“We commend the Administration for recognizing the critical role that reliable, domestic energy resources play in powering our growing economy. Big Rivers’ coal and natural gas resources are vital to maintaining affordable, reliable energy for our Member-Owners.”
Lignite Energy Council — Jonathan Fortner, President and CEO
“Today’s action is a major step toward restoring regulatory certainty and recognizing the essential role coal-fired generation plays in maintaining a reliable and affordable electric grid. The 2024 rule gave America’s long-term coal plants an impossible choice: install carbon capture on an extremely aggressive federal timeline or plan for retirement. That approach ignored the very different circumstances facing individual power plants across the country, and in North Dakota it threatened not just power plants, but the mines, jobs and communities built around them.”
Western Fuels Association
“These actions provide imperative regulatory relief and greater certainty for coal-based generation at a time when electricity demand is accelerating exponentially, and grid reliability is increasingly essential. Reliable coal generation remains a crucial and critical part of a resilient, fuel-secure electric grid, particularly as demand from data centers, AI, manufacturing, and electrification continues to grow.”
West Virginia Coal Association — Chris Hamilton, President
“Today’s action is a win for West Virginia coal, our electric grid, and the families and businesses that depend on affordable, reliable power. Keeping proven coal generation available means protecting families from higher power bills and ensuring our communities, hospitals, schools, manufacturers, and small businesses have the electricity they need when they need it.”