Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman is leading a group of 25 attorneys general in challenging the Biden Administration's efforts to shut down Kentucky's coal and natural gas power plants. The challenge, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, aims to protect affordable energy, preserve electric grid reliability, and safeguard American security. The attorneys general are specifically targeting the EPA's new regulation, known as the Clean Power Plan 2.0, which imposes strict emissions restrictions on existing coal plants and new natural gas plants [c639bdfc].
Kentucky's electric cooperatives have expressed concerns about the EPA's burdensome restrictions, warning that they could lead to a significant increase in utility bills for residential customers. They estimate that these restrictions could result in up to a 96% increase in utility bills. Attorney General Coleman argues that the Biden Administration's rule would leave Kentucky families and job creators without access to affordable and reliable energy [c639bdfc].
The challenge to the EPA's power plant rule has garnered support from attorneys general in several other states, including West Virginia, Indiana, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, and Wyoming. These attorneys general are united in their belief that the EPA's regulations would have a detrimental impact on their states' energy sectors and overall economies [c639bdfc].