Expect a Mess as EPA Rules Take Hold

摘要

It's been a few years since the words "stranded investment" have been uttered. The last time was during the tumultuous days of deregulation when utilities were compelled to divest, mothball and even shutter generating assets. Now the term is reemerging in the context of environmental rules coming from the Environmental Protection Agency.rn"There's not a lot of good news," said Theresa Pugh, the American Public Power Association's top environmental expert as she briefed a session at the association's annual conference in Orlando last month. In a nutshell, she expects the coal-fired power sector will see near-constant retrofits from 2012 through 2018; competition for scarce engineering and construction services and equipment; large-scale unit retirements; possible shortfalls in reserve margin requirements; an increase in natural gas generation; and a worrisome chance that financial resources could be misallocated and investments left stranded.