TAKE ACTION to Help Protect Affordable Electricity (Comment deadline is December 1, 2014)
On June 2, 2014, as part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule seeking to cut carbon emissions from Nebraska’s existing fossil fuel power plants by 26 percent by the year 2030.
Coal fired power plants provide two-thirds of our state’s electricity. These plants provide an affordable source of electricity that can be depended upon around the clock. The proposed rule would force the closure of many coal fired power plants across the nation, placing in jeopardy the affordability and reliability of our electrical system.
The EPA is asking for public comment on this rule and we are asking you to Take Action. The public comment period will be a very important part of the rule-making process, and we need the EPA to know that Nebraskans are very concerned about the impacts of excessive regulations from the EPA.
We thank those of you that have participated in these Action Alerts in the past. Please continue to be active on these issues. The more you are aware of the impacts these regulations have on your pocketbooks, and the more active our rural membership is on these issues, the more likely we are to see the EPA listen to our concerns.
Following is the text of the comment that will be submitted when you TAKE ACTION. There is an opportunity to add your own words to make it more personal. This comment will be sent on your behalf to Gina McCarthy, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Dear Administrator McCarthy,
I oppose the EPA’s proposed greenhouse gas regulations for existing power plants because we need to balance our country’s energy needs with environmental concerns. It’s very important that we all have the electricity needed to run our lives and the economy.
The potential for these new regulations to dramatically raise energy prices and cost thousands of hard-working American jobs is too great.
I’m a member of my local not-for-profit public power district and these proposed regulations have me really concerned.
These new plans to regulate power plants don’t work for my family, my community or our nation’s economy.