Regulation or Electrification?

The Wall Street Journal brings to light new documents showing the Environmental Protection Agency operates as an overbearing parent, not a servant of the people. New regulations targeting air quality and mercury production in coal-fired power plants are projected by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reduce electricity production by 8 percent. That's 81 gigawatts of power no longer available, which is enough electricity to power about 8,100 Pennsylvania homes for a year.

This is in addition to the EPA's other job-killing regulations that will increase electricity rates by 13 to 17 percent in Pennsylvania and cost thousands of jobs.

Why is the EPA rushing these punitive rules at a time of great economic uncertainty?

FERC says less burdensome regulations could have the same net benefit, so it's not about protecting the environment. Following the proposed reduction in output, consumers would be more susceptible to power outages and rolling blackouts during peak usage. Your power would be less reliable just when you need it the most. Clearly, the EPA places real people's welfare last on its priority list.

The Journal ends its article by assuring us that FERC has the power to overrule the EPA if their regulations are deemed too costly. One federal bureaucracy may be overseeing another, but consumers will never have real protection while we have regulation without representation.