On September 29 and 30 the House Committee on Environmental Regulation held hearings to review the Environmental Protection Agency’s newly proposed Clean Power Plan to determine the potential impact the proposed rule would have on Texas. There are many questions still remaining about the proposal including the legality of it, which has resulted in a joint lawsuit against the EPA. Other outstanding questions include quantifying how much of Texas’ previous efforts on renewable generation will count toward the requirements of the rule as well as what the final rule will look like.
Witnesses who expressed concern over the proposed rules noted among other things that: shuttering of coal-plants would increase cost and decrease reliability for consumers and increasing renewable generation would add costs to consumers as transmission infrastructure is built out. Supporters of the proposed rule testified stating among other things: requirements of rule could be accomplish when including energy efficiency and renewable generation; it will boost the Texas economy; and could decrease peak load and cost.
After the ongoing public comment period ends, the final rule will be published and could be adopted as early as June 2015.
