FRANKFORT, KY – Attorney General Russell Coleman urged the U.S. Supreme Court to immediately block the Biden-Harris Administration’s plan to shut down fossil fuel power plants. Along with a 25-state coalition, General Coleman sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court to stop the EPA’s latest rule that effectively forces coal and natural gas plants to close unless they install expensive and unproven technologies.
In May, Attorney General Coleman joined the coalition to protect affordable and reliable energy from the Administration’s radical green agenda. The Biden-Harris Administration’s EPA released a package of job-killing energy regulations that would drive up prices on Kentucky families. The worst of the restrictions is a crackdown on greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, which amounts to little more than a do-over of the Obama Administration’s plan that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s extreme attack on Kentucky’s affordable and reliable energy would force families to pay billions just to increase the chances that we sit in the dark. This isn’t serious policymaking but another of Washington’s ideological assaults on Middle America,” said Attorney General Coleman. “We’re fighting all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court to protect Kentucky families and our Commonwealth’s competitive edge.”
The AGs and energy producers appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit declined to block the rule last week.
“Kentucky coal helped build our nation, and the Commonwealth has always been at the forefront of America’s energy production,” said Senate President Robert Stivers. “Thanks to the Attorney General’s efforts, we’re leading the legal battle to stop President Biden and Vice President Harris’ D.C. bureaucrats from interfering in our energy policies. The Supreme Court has ruled against this type of regulatory overreach before, and we hope it will again to ensure affordable and reliable energy for Kentuckians.”
Kentucky’s electric cooperatives, which serve 1.8 million residents across the Commonwealth, joined the legal effort, along with investor-owned utilities and other industry partners. As of 2022, coal and gas accounted for 95% of Kentucky’s electricity. The Biden-Harris Administration’s rush to take existing plants offline in favor of alternative energy sources undermines the reliability of Kentucky’s grid and could leave families and manufacturers without access to affordable electricity.
“To protect electric reliability and the interests of Kentucky energy consumers, we strongly support the appeal to the Supreme Court to stay the EPA power plant emissions rule. Electric cooperatives are fighting to keep the lights on, to keep hospitals and schools powered, and to keep industries and jobs productive,” said Kentucky Electric Cooperatives President and CEO Chris Perry. “We appreciate Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman taking these priorities seriously. It is critical that our nation fully comprehend the consequences of the EPA rule to grid reliability, rate pressures and other key questions raised by utilities across the country.”
“We fully support and applaud Attorney General Coleman’s fight against the regulatory overreach by the U.S. EPA. We are striving to maintain the reliability of our grid and provide stable electricity prices,” said Big Rivers Electric Corporation President and CEO Don Gulley. “While Kentucky has taken steps under Attorney General Coleman’s leadership to stop the onslaught of regulation and maintain reliable power for the state of Kentucky, this is a national issue and we support the appeal to the Supreme Court.”
The Attorney General’s Solicitor General Matt Kuhn and Assistant Solicitor General Jacob Abrahamson are pursuing the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.
Attorney General Coleman joined the Indiana and West Virginia-led filing, along with attorneys general from 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.
