Thomas Catenacci writes for the Washington Free Beacon about a helpful Trump administration energy policy.
The Trump Environmental Protection Agency is planning to propose the permanent repeal of federal regulations of power plants’ greenhouse gas emissions, asserting that such rules have “virtually no benefit,” the Washington Free Beacon has learned. In tandem with that proposal, the agency is finalizing plans to gut other Biden-era climate rules that forced existing coal-fired plants to close down and stymied future gas plant development.
Together, the moves represent a historic action that the EPA says is the largest power sector deregulatory action in U.S. history. According to the agency’s data, the move axing the Biden-era regulations will save Americans $310 billion. The other action—eliminating every remaining greenhouse gas-related power plant regulation—will save companies $370 million in direct compliance costs and is expected to lead to significant downstream savings in power bills both for businesses and households.
“The Trump administration has come in to protect American energy and to make sure you can afford to keep the lights on,” EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said in a statement to the Free Beacon. “Americans will see a decrease in electricity prices, but this is just the beginning. We are working to go even further so that American energy can be fully unleashed.”
Zeldin is slated to announce the actions at the G20 Energy Abundance Ministerial in Houston later Monday alongside Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum.
The EPA’s actions are expected to immediately extend the lifespan of existing coal-fired plants, shielding them from forced early shutdowns, and pave the way for developers nationwide to more easily build new gas-fired plants. That could help meet growing electricity demand and, as a result, drive down energy prices.
That makes it one of the most significant actions the Trump administration has taken in its fight to lower electric bills, increase American energy capacity and assert what administration officials call “energy dominance.”
