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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Report: MO Can Meet EPA Carbon Goals without Compromising Reliability

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Monday, February 23, 2015   

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - A new report finds Missouri can meet its carbon reduction goals proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency without compromising grid reliability. Some opponents argue that the Clean Power Plan will result in electric system failures, but a report from the "Analysis Group" consulting firm concludes reliability won't be jeopardized.

Senior adviser Susan Tierney says grid operators, power companies and regulators can coordinate, just as they always do, to keep the lights on.

"We have an electric industry that is so mission-oriented that it's just a false premise to think that they're going to stand around and let the problem happen," says Tierney. "They're going to do something ahead of time."

Tierney contends, with good planning and the use of current procedures to address reliability the electric grid can remain strong. The Clean Power Plan calls for Missouri to reduce carbon emission from existing power plants 21 percent from 2012 levels by the year 2030.

The Environmental Defense Fund's associate vice president Cheryl Roberto served as a state utility commissioner and says the grid has always responded well to changes, including its current transition to natural gas and renewable power.

"The system's transforming, with or without these requirements. And we have system operators who have been extremely successful over the past transmission," says Roberto. "We have more tools to do it now."

Opponents claim the EPA plan places an unfair burden on heavily coal-powered states. Former Federal Energy Regulatory Commissioner Marc Spitzer believes the political debate over the regulations is distracting to those seeking solutions.

"The politics in this country, the fact is we are polarized," he says. "The people who are responsible for the grid in terms of reliability, in terms of affordability and in terms of proper environmental outcomes, feel a little bit put upon by the rival political factions."

Spitzer attended a commission hearing last week with energy industry stakeholders examining the possible effects of the Clean Power Plan on electric reliability.


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