A new federal air quality rule will make the Texas electric grid less reliable and result in rolling power outages in the state, Texas Public Utility Commission Chairwoman Donna Nelson said today.
If the Jan. 1 implementation date for the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule is not delayed, "I have no doubt in my mind that this rule will result in reliability issues and rolling outages in Texas," Nelson said at the start of the commission's meeting.The rule, issued in early July by the Environmental Protection Agency, would require substantial reductions in emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide at power plants in 27 states, the agency said. The EPA says the rule will save and prolong lives by reducing harmful smog and soot pollution.Dallas-based power generator Luminant is asking that the EPA delay implementation of the rule, saying it doesn't have enough time to comply. The company says the industry standard timeframe for installing emission controls is several years but the rule requires compliance in six months.Luminant, a subsidiary of Energy Future Holdings, said on Aug. 5 that the rule could force it to curtail power generation and lignite mining associated with its coal-fired plants in East Texas."Curtailing plant and/or mine operations will be the only option" if the 1,323-page rule goes into effect as planned, Luminant said.In an Aug. 4 letter to the EPA, Nelson said the new rule is "overly burdensome" and that the federal agency "has ignored the effects of local transmission constraints when considering the impact of generating-plant retirements on electric reliabilty." Nelson became the PUC's chairwoman after former commissioner Barry Smitherman was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission last month.PUC Commissioner Kenneth Anderson said today that the tight implementation schedule for the rule "will be impossible to meet" and urged that the state agency "file comments with the EPA asking them to, at the very least, extend the compliance deadline."Jack Z. Smith, 817-390-7724Have more to add? News tip? Tell us
