Power Industry Source - Meeting W. Pruitt "Devoid Of Reality"; CEOs Ask For Regulatory Clarity

Dozens of power industry executives who flew to Washington for a Monday meeting with U.S. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt had three minutes apiece to tell him whether they want to replace the Clean Power Plan. Many said that if EPA follows through with rescinding the rule, the agency should write a less stringent carbon regulation that sets efficiency standards for coal plants. That would give the industry certainty to make planning decisions, they said.

But Pruitt didn't seem convinced, according to one source with knowledge of the discussion. The EPA chief could instead forgo replacing the carbon rule and decide to challenge the agency's underlying endangerment finding, which requires it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

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A different source who attended the meeting with Pruitt described it as a "high-level listening session," where Pruitt solicited feedback but didn't dig into policy possibilities. "There wasn't a lot of in-depth discussion," he said. The power sector has nearly outpaced the regulation that EPA finalized in 2015, as natural gas has stayed inexpensive and renewable power has gotten cheaper. One industry source said Pruitt wasn't hearing that message.

"What I got back from it was the only time the administrator really perked up was when he heard the word 'coal,'" he said. "None of our people are ever going to be building a coal plant again. It's devoid of reality."

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https://www.eenews.net/stories/1060056398