EDF Praises Electric Utility Restructuring Plan As Good First Step

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) today praised the Clinton Administration’s plan for electric utility restructuring as a good first step. The plan recognizes that in order for electric utility restructuring to benefit the country, environmental concerns must be incorporated into the process.

“If it’s done correctly, customer choice in electricity can result in environmental improvement. If it’s done incorrectly, electric utility restructuring can mean dirtier air and harm our children’s health,” said Jim Marston, an EDF attorney. .

EDF believes that establishing a cap and trade system on nitrous oxide emissions from power plants is a smart and efficient way to improve air quality in this country. This program builds on the successful tradable allowance program for sulfur dioxide that EDF helped design in the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. In addition, the Clinton Administration’s programs to support investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy protect investments in cutting edge technologies that will result in health benefits and lower costs to all Americans.

“The plan also recognizes that in order for choice to be meaningful, Americans must be given important information about power choices. EDF is pleased that the plan would require all marketers to disclose information about the source and emissions of any product they are offering,” said Marston. “Given information about the environmental harm and benefits of particular power choices, EDF is confident that significant numbers of Americans will vote with their pocketbooks for clean power.”

Although EDF had hoped for more progress on greenhouse gas emissions in this plan, it does require monitoring of carbon dioxide emissions which is laudable, but its failure to have a regulatory limit of this pollutant means that the administration must push must harder for meaningful incentives and voluntary programs to reduce the threat of global climate change. One such voluntary program is the early reduction credit program being advocated by EDF.