The Ohio Chamber of Commerce filed comments urging the United States Environmental Protection Agency to repeal a rule, known as the Clean Power Plan (CPP), that would have placed onerous regulations on existing electric generation units and driven up electricity prices, all without any meaningful reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions.

The CPP has been on hold since the United States Supreme Court stayed implementation of the rule in 2016 and the Trump administration has worked quickly since taking office to repeal the rule and explore potential replacement options.

The CPP stretched the plain meaning of the Clean Air Act beyond recognition. Every rule issued under the CAA prior to the CPP involved regulations implemented at the plant level. The CPP, however, would have required states to shift their generation portfolio away from sources that are the most economical in the marketplace and to sources that emit less greenhouse gasses. The effects on electricity prices would have been staggering with the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio estimating that under the draft rule whole electricity prices would increase nearly 40 percent by 2025.

For these reasons the Ohio Chamber of Commerce strongly supports the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan and caution that any future action by the agency must respect the Clean Air Act and the role of the states in environmental protection. To read the Ohio Chamber’s submitted comments, click here.