Top grid operators warned Biden-era rules would threaten reliability of the nation’s power grid
The Trump administration is rolling back Biden-era regulations that would have tightened emissions restrictions on coal and gas power plants and forced hundreds of existing coal plants to shutter in the coming years.
In an announcement Wednesday afternoon, EPA administrator Lee Zeldin said his agency will repeal both greenhouse gas emissions standards targeting the power sector and so-called Mercury and Air Toxics Standards that apply to coal-fired power plants. According to the EPA, the regulations raise the cost of living for Americans, threaten grid reliability, and limit “American energy prosperity.”
The agency projected its actions will save the American power sector more than $1.2 billion a year in regulatory compliance costs over the next two decades. It also said the actions will ensure that existing gas and coal power plants—dozens of which are scheduled to be retired this year alone—will remain in operation.
The EPA’s actions are the latest—and perhaps most significant—rejection of the Biden-era climate agenda. The previous administration sought to crack down on the fossil fuel power sector to achieve its goal of having a completely carbon-free U.S. power grid by 2035.
The actions also represent a fulfillment of one of President Donald Trump’s central energy-related campaign promises. The president accused the Biden administration last year of pursuing “a regulatory jihad to shut down power plants all across America.”
The Biden EPA originally proposed its power plant rules in May 2023 and crafted them to include all coal and natural gas power plants, both new and existing. But in April 2024, the agency finalized regulations impacting only coal plants and new natural gas plants, punting on the more impactful rules targeting existing natural gas plants.
Overall, the Biden administration said its power plant rules would reduce carbon emissions by about 617 million metric tons through 2042. The rules would force power plant operators to adopt costly carbon capture technology or shut down. Such technology hasn’t been deployed at scale and has faced criticism from the power industry.
The previously finalized rules incorporated compliance timelines. Under the rules, existing coal power plants would have been forced to capture 90 percent of their emissions by 2032 if they intend to operate beyond 2039. On the other hand, coal plants that intend to cease operations before 2039 would have no or scaled-down restrictions.
Four of the nation’s grid operators, which collectively oversee the power grid serving more than 150 million Americans, said grid reliability would “dwindle to concerning levels” under the Biden administration’s power regulations. And the Edison Electric Institute, which represents the largest power providers in the country, sued over the rules.
In 2024, gas-fired power plants generated 43 percent of the nation’s electricity, accounting for more power generation than any other source, according to federal data. Coal-fired power plants generated 15 percent of the nation’s electricity, down from their 49 percent share reported two decades ago. Wind and solar power each generated less electricity than coal last year.
Separate from its power plant rules, the Biden EPA finalized its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards in April 2024, which the nation’s lead coal industry group said would increase compliance costs, raise electricity prices, and lead to additional retirements of coal-fired electric generating units. The Washington Free Beacon first reported the Trump EPA would reconsider those regulations in March.
“Affordable, reliable electricity is key to the American dream and a natural byproduct of national energy dominance,” Zeldin said in a statement Wednesday. “According to many, the primary purpose of these Biden-Harris administration regulations was to destroy industries that didn’t align with their narrow-minded climate change zealotry.”
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