OPINION

Point-Counterpoint: EPA policy’s impact

The Clarion-Ledger

The Clarion-Ledger invited Ron Aldridge, Mississippi state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, and Louie Miller, state director of the Mississippi chapter of the Sierra Club, to provide their thoughts on this week’s Point/Counterpoint question.

Aldridge

What would you think if I told you Washington was going take another $1,700 a year out of your family’s checking account? This isn’t a theoretical exercise. It’s what’s going to happen in a few years if the Obama administration’s new rules governing the nation’s power plants are allowed to take effect. In short, this calls on the Environmental Protection Agency to create tough new standards on carbon emissions from U.S. power plants, although states will be given a chance to come up with their own standards. The catch, according to a Heritage Foundation analysis of Energy Information Agency data, is that the plan would cost a typical family of four upwards of $1,700 a year within a decade. Overall, the U.S. economy would shrink by nearly $150 billion a year. Small businesses, the engine that drives our economy, would have to spend more on energy, and that, in turn, would push up prices on absolutely everything.

Miller

The Clean Power Plan presents a huge opportunity for Mississippi to move to a clean energy economy. The plan gives states common sense carbon pollution reduction goals, the flexibility to set a plan that achieves these reductions and provides incentives to states to do so. Using this framework, Mississippi can craft a plan that works and ensures our economy thrives for decades to come. The plan gives Mississippi leaders the opportunity to take full advantage by expanding energy efficiency and renewable energy programs. A strong state plan can reduce pollution and protect public health while jump starting a clean energy economy that creates good paying, local jobs, all the while saving homeowners and businesses money.

Aldridge

It’s true that Mississippi doesn’t get much of its power from coal-fired power plants — only about 16 percent — but the rules drive up costs for any fossil fuel plant including natural gas and petroleum. Plus, the cost of goods will rise across the country. A business operating in our state may have suppliers in the harder hit areas of the country. State legislators are being driven by the administration to cooperate by creating plans that meet the federal government’s harsh standards. It’s an almost impossible choice they face: go along, or leave the tough decisions to Washington regulators. Without a doubt, many states will see no other alternative but to sue the federal government for this regulatory overreach.

Miller

Currently, the Mississippi Public Service Commission is on the cusp of adopting a rule that will incentivize homeowners, businesses and equipment leasers to install rooftop solar and send their excess solar-generated electricity back to the grid. In other words electric customers like you and me will not only save on our monthly electric bills but we also become energy suppliers and receive credit for the clean power we generate. Here in Mississippi we have a unique advantage of long, sunny, summer days that coincide with our peak demand for electricity — air conditioning. Solar-generated electricity offsets that increased demand by using those sunny days to generate power. Clean, renewable solar power also replaces dirty, expensive, volatile fossil fuels. When compared to traditional or experimental forms of fossil fuel energy — such as the more than $6 plus billion Kemper Coal Plant — solar energy is a bargain!

Aldridge

Congress shouldn’t take this lying down. Already, the House has passed legislation that would let states opt out of the rule if they find that electric rates will rise sharply. There is companion legislation introduced in the Senate, but it hasn’t gotten a vote yet. If this rule goes into effect, it will be painful for small businesses and for family budgets. At a time when the nation is struggling to come out of the recession, the EPA’s actions threaten to create another economic crisis.

Miller

A Clean Power Plan that emphasizes energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy investments can save Mississippi families and businesses millions over the next 15 years, create a new sector of our economy, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and in turn provide our children with an energy independent future and lower health bills to boot, thanks to cleaner air. The Clean Power Plan is a home run for all Mississippians.