Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy pushed back last week after the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) warned of “reliability challenges” in the implementation of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.
“Reliability is a high priority for all of us, so it’s good we’re discussing it,” she told the CERAWeek conference in Houston. “But let’s not waste time and energy worrying about scenarios that cannot and will not happen.”
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McCarthy added that “there is no scenario I will accept where reliability comes into question. Period,” according to prepared remarks. “We will give you the time and space you need to take a reliability-first approach that’s in line with your long-term planning, and gives you the latitude to adapt as market demands change.”
She also noted that “no peer-reviewed economic literature—no historical record—comes close to supporting the claims of massive job losses from reducing pollution. In EPA’s 45-year history, we’ve cut air pollution 70% while GDP has tripled. Environmental protection isn’t window dressing—it’s foundational to strong, lasting economic growth.”
