Dive Brief:

• State utility regulators are asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for flexibility in drafting greenhouse gas emissions standards for existing power plants.
• The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) passed a resolution Wednesday that EPA “should rely on both State utility and environmental regulators to develop the [carbon dioxide] performance standards and implementation plans that reflect the policies, energy needs, resource mix and economic conditions of each State and region.”
• The Natural Resources Defense Council, a major environmental group, supported the NARUC resolution.

Dive Insight:

“The NARUC resolution appropriately asks EPA to recognize state programs that have already reduced emissions; to give states flexibility to meet new carbon pollution standards; and to empower states and utility regulators to help design the best ways to reduce carbon pollution from power plants in their states,” said Ralph Cavanagh, NRDC Energy Program co-director.

In September EPA proposed a rule to address carbon emissions from new plants. The federal agency plans to propose a rule addressing emissions from existing plants in June. State regulators are signaling that they want to have a major role in developing the rule.