Utility Mact and PJM Auction

Floor Speech

Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, President Obama's regulatory war on coal is having an effect. In the 2015 2016 capacity auction by regional transmission organization PJM Interconnection, the market clearing price for the mid-Atlantic area was $167 per megawatt. And for northern Ohio, it was $357 per megawatt. The average over the last 8 years has been $89.

Andy Ott at PJM Interconnection said:

Capacity prices were higher than last year's because of retirements of existing coal-fired generation resulting largely from environmental regulations which go into effect in 2015.

A study published in 2010 by the Edison Electric Institute identified seven different new regulations that will raise the cost of electrical generation by 2017. The costs are huge. The EPA's estimate of costs for its utility MACT regulation alone is $9.6 billion per year starting in 2015.

The House of Representatives has taken action to prevent the imposition of new regulatory burdens in the midst of this fragile economic recovery, but the Senate has yet to follow that lead. Madam Speaker, prices are climbing, and Americans will suffer.

Source