For States, EPA Power Rule Means More Work But Same Calculus (1)

The lives of state regulators might get a little more complicated under the EPA’s replacement carbon controls for existing power plants, but many of their underlying decisions about building a cleaner power grid aren’t likely to change.

The Environmental Protection Agency puts state regulators in the driver’s seat in the final Affordable Clean Energy rule EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler unveiled June 19. The rule replaces the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan—which set the first carbon dioxide limits on existing power plants—with much narrower standards.

For the most part, the EPA’s new rule is unlikely to change the ...