Mark Christie, a commissioner on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), has raised serious concerns about the Biden administration’s new power plant regulations, warning that they could devastate energy reliability. In a letter to three Republican lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Christie described the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)’s regulations as potentially “catastrophic” if implemented.
The rules, finalized in April, would require existing coal plants to capture 90% of their carbon emissions by 2032 if they wish to continue operating beyond 2039. New natural gas plants would also face similar stringent emissions reductions. Christie argues that these mandates could lead to the widespread retirement of essential coal and gas plants, crippling energy stability across the nation. “Once critically needed power plants retire, they are gone,” Christie warned, highlighting the irreversible impact of these closures.
Christie also questioned the feasibility of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, which is central to the EPA’s rules. He stated that the current expert evidence overwhelmingly indicates that a 90% carbon capture standard is neither technically nor commercially viable. This aligns with concerns from energy experts who argue that the EPA’s regulations could lead to more blackouts and higher energy costs if traditional power plants are replaced too quickly by intermittent renewable sources.
With the Biden administration pushing for increased electrification, including electric vehicle adoption and more data centers for artificial intelligence, electricity demand is expected to rise. Christie cautioned that retiring fossil fuel-fired plants faster than renewable replacements come online could lead to “very dire consequences,” including potential blackouts and brownouts. The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) has also warned that significant parts of the country are at risk of power shortages during extreme weather.
