Emissions

The industry now awaits the post-election fate of the EPA power plant rule

Utility industry groups congratulated President-Elect Donald Trump, but didn’t speculate on the rule’s future.
The industry now awaits the post-election fate of the EPA power plant rule

Former President Donald Trump has won the 2024 election and will re-take office next year, likely spelling big changes ahead for U.S. climate policy.

The associations representing the nation’s electric utilities and rural cooperatives issued congratulatory statements Wednesday, saying they looked forward to working with the incoming administration.

Edison Electric Institute (EEI) interim President and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn today issued the following statement on the 2024 presidential election results.

“EEI and our member companies—America’s investor-owned electric companies—congratulate Donald Trump and JD Vance on their election as President and Vice President of the United States,” said Edison Electric Institute (EEI) interim President and CEO Pat Vincent-Collawn.

He continued: “This is an exciting time for electric companies and our industry, as customer demand for electricity is growing at the fastest pace in decades, and we look forward to working with the Trump administration, Congress, and state policymakers and regulators to meet this demand safely, reliably, and affordably.

It’s likely the new Trump administration will target Biden EPA rules, like the one that requires coal and new natural gas-fired plants to capture their carbon or retire by varying compliance deadlines in the 2030s.

Opponents of the EPA rule, which include the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA), have argued that its implementation would jeopardize grid reliability and that the emission reduction technologies proposed by the agency aren’t ready for prime time.

“America is at an energy crossroads and the reliability of the electric grid hangs in the balance. Critical generation resources are being retired faster than they can be reliably replaced,” said NRECA CEO Jim Matheson in a post-election statement Wednesday.

“At the same time, electricity demand is skyrocketing as power-hungry data centers and new manufacturing facilities come online. Smart energy policies that keep the lights on are more important than ever,” he added.

Neither EEI or NRECA responded to inquiries specifically about the post-election fate of the power plant rule.

NRECA, which represents nearly 900 U.S. local electric cooperatives, did say in its post-election statement that one of its policy priorities remains “protecting the electric grid from increasing threats to reliability, such as the Environmental Protection Agency’s Power Plant Rule.”

The rule has faced challenges from Republican-led states and industry groups. The Supreme Court in October allowed the rule to remain in place as legal challenges play out.