Statement on Supreme Court Decision to stay Clean Power Plan

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association was pleased with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to halt implementation of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Clean Power Plan.

Last fall, Tennessee’s electric cooperatives joined the National Rural Cooperative Association (NRECA) in launching legal efforts to stop implementation of the Clean Power Plan. On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court took action halting the EPA’s landmark carbon rule.

“We continue to believe that low rates and reliable power must be a part of our clean energy future. This decision opens the door to find real solutions that effectively balance environmental and economic concerns,” says David Callis, executive vice president and general manager of the Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association.

“If this stay had not been granted, cooperatives across the nation would have been forced to take costly and irreversible steps to comply with these new regulations. The Supreme Court’s ruling validates our belief that the Clean Power Plan is an overreach of EPA’s legal authority.”

In 2014, electric consumers from across Tennessee submitted more than 14,000 comments to the Environmental Protection Agency in opposition to the agency’s proposals to limit carbon dioxide emissions from power plants.

The Tennessee Electric Cooperative Association is a trade group representing the interests of Tennessee’s 23 electric distribution cooperatives and the 2.5 million rural and suburban consumers they serve. The association publishes The Tennessee Magazine and provides legislative and support services to Tennessee’s electric cooperatives. Learn more at tnelectric.org.