EPA, FERC Split Over Bill Limiting Utilities' Liability In Reliability Cases

摘要

EPA's air chief says a House bill aimed at shielding power plants from environmental liability when operating under "must-run" orders to ensure grid reliability is unnecessary and may discourage early action to address reliability, though a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) official is supporting the legislation. The split between the EPA and FERC officials is over H.R. 4273, which was the subject of a May 9 hearing of the House Energy & Commerce Committee's power panel. The bill aims to address concerns from utilities that when they are issued must-run orders by the Department of Energy (DOE), they could end up violating the Clean Air Act or other environmental laws — for example if their emissions would increase significantly over permitted levels due to a DOE order.