On Dec. 1, the comment period on the EPA’s proposed Clean Power Plan closed after roughly 1.6 million comments were received.

The Pennsylvania Coal Alliance (PCA), along with 47 lawmakers, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), the Public Utility Commission (PUC), electric ratepayers and laborers statewide took to paper and e-mail to submit comments of opposition.

The coal industry and its utility customers have been actively developing advancements in generation efficiencies and pollution reductions. According to the state DEP, “Carbon dioxide emissions from the fossil fuel-fired electric generating fleet in Pennsylvania has declined by 12 percent from 2008 through 2013.”

These reductions were accomplished while Pennsylvania maintained a stable and reliable supply of electricity at competitively-priced rates lower than both the national average and 17 to 37 percent lower than its neighboring northern states.

Coal accounts for 40 percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity and 39 percent of the electric make up nationally, making it the No. 1 source of energy in the United States.

In Pennsylvania, at least eight power plants totaling 5,000 megawatts, which is enough to power almost five million homes, have already been deactivated or designated for retirements on account of pending air quality rules.

Power grid operators nationwide have done their own reports and publicly opposed the severe timeline for carbon emission reductions as proposed by the Clean Power Plan for fear of blackouts and a lack of electric supply.

In Pennsylvania, the PJM Interconnection grid which provides power to over 60 million consumers with a capacity of 142 GW, had a demand of 141 GW on Jan. 7, 2014. That is over a 99 percent grid utilization rate.

With these new and scheduled retirements, the need for reliable baseload electricity is more important than ever.

The state DEP’s comments to EPA reinforced that the emission reduction time frames proposed by the Clean Power Plan are unattainable.

DEP also recommended that this policy decision be left to Congress or other elected officials. Pennsylvania’s PUC stated, “… the EPA has not given sufficient consideration to the impacts its proposal will have on organized electricity markets and the challenges that the proposal presents to system reliability and the economy.”

All of Pennsylvania anxiously awaits the June 2015 plan reveal and trust that EPA will seriously consider the comments of the public it serves.

This article was submitted by the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance.