Con Ed Files Court Petition to Challenge Power Plan Repeal

By Patrick Thomas

Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED) said on Monday that it and a group of other utilities have filed a petition to challenge the Environmental Protection Agency's recent Affordable Clean Energy rule and its repeal of the Clean Power Plan a year ago.

Con Ed said it believes that the EPA's rollback of the Clean Power Plan was the wrong approach to combating climate change, and will undermine the company's own efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The coalition of utilities includes PG&E Corp. (PCG), Exelon Corp. (EXC) and the Los Angeles Department of Water & Power, among others. The petition was filed in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals.

The Trump administration overturned the Obama-era plan, which limited power-plant emissions, last year, a move it said was designed to help coal-burning plants compete with natural gas and other alternatives as a national energy source. The EPA signed the Affordable Clean Energy rule in July and said it restored authority to states. It also required some power plants to adopt newer technology to remain in operation.

President Trump has long promised to roll back environmental regulations he considers too restrictive and has been overturning Obama-era policies aimed at stemming climate change and adopting rules that could allow older power plants to continue operating. The administration rescinded an Obama-era policy earlier this month that expanded federal oversight and the threat of steep fines for polluting the country's smaller waterways.

Con Ed and other companies in the Power Companies Climate Coalition cited higher costs to both customers and utility industry and argued the administration's new rules prohibit the power sector from using more effective emission reduction measures.

Write to Patrick Thomas at patrick.thomas@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 16, 2019 14:13 ET (18:13 GMT)

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