Energy Market Upheaval: Changes in Coal Production and Consumption Patterns

摘要

Recent data show the initial response of the electrical power generationindustry to the implementation of Phase II of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendments, aswell as the coal mining industry’s response to the continuing, albeit, slower pace ofelectrical utility deregulation. These data show that the response to the tighter sulfurdioxide emission regulations has been to increase the use of low sulfur coal, particularlythat produced in the Powder River Basin and to draw upon the previously bankedallowances for sulfur dioxide emissions. The coal mining industry has entered a periodof unprecedented consolidation of productive capacity in response to the uncertainty infuture coal demand brought about by deregulation of the electrical power industry and theprospect of additional regulation of coal combustion.