Ohio Congressman Troy Balderson (OH-12) has initiated a bipartisan effort under the Congressional Review Act to challenge the Biden Administration's plan to shut down coal power plants across the United States, including those in Ohio. This initiative has garnered support from 138 House colleagues. Concurrently, Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) led 43 of her Senate colleagues in introducing an identical resolution.
The new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rules, released last month, target both coal and natural gas power plants. These rules are part of the administration’s Clean Air Act, now referred to as Clean Power Plan 2.0.
“The Clean Power Plan 2.0 was created by and for extreme activists, ignoring the real-world harm it will cause to our electric grid and American energy security,” said Balderson. “Slashing our baseload energy production while power demand continues to climb at historic levels is shortsighted and will have a catastrophic impact for Ohioans.”
Pat O’Loughlin, President and CEO of Ohio’s Electric Cooperatives and Buckeye Power, expressed support for Balderson's resolution: “If not stopped by Congress or in federal court, the rule will drive operational costs higher, severely threaten the reliability of the electric grid, and force the premature closure of dependable baseload power plants needed to electrify the county and meet rising energy demand.”
Senator Capito emphasized the importance of this vote: “With this Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, every member of Congress will have the opportunity to protect America’s energy future... The Biden administration’s Clean Power Plan 2.0 makes it clear it will stand with climate activists, regardless of the harm that is sure to be done.”
Support also came from various organizations within Ohio. Steve Stivers, President and CEO of the Ohio Chamber of Commerce stated: “This rule would cripple the natural gas industry of Ohio... The proposed rules require technologies not yet scaled or deployable.” Ryan Augsburger, President of the Ohio Manufacturers' Association added: “Natural gas power plants are proven in the marketplace and can co-exist with expanding renewable technologies.”
Rob Jennings from the American Petroleum Institute highlighted concerns about growing electricity demand: “At a time of rapid energy demand growth... EPA’s final rule does nothing but add barriers to building new generation capacity needed to power the future grid.” Kathleen Sgamma from Western Energy Alliance pointed out that current carbon capture technology is not yet operational in any power plants.
Ryan Walker from Heritage Action criticized the regulation's potential economic impact: “The EPA’s so-called Clean Power Rule would be a disaster for America’s energy independence and economic competitiveness... Once again, President Biden is ignoring...the needs of hardworking families.”