Nuclear Giant Exelon Shrugs Off 'Doomsday' Warnings About EPA Rule

U.S. EPA isn't alone in rejecting doomsday predictions about the effects its Clean Power Plan will have on the nation's energy sector and sprawling electric grid.

Exelon Corp., the nation's largest nuclear operator, also doesn't think the sky is falling.

"Some of our colleagues in the industry have argued that the regulation of carbon pollution is illegal, that EPA is moving too quickly, and that Americans must confront a choice between protecting the environment ... and affordable and reliable electricity," Kathleen Barrón, Exelon's senior vice president of federal regulatory affairs, told U.S. EPA chief Gina McCarthy in public comments filed last week.  "The industry data developed over the last six months demonstrates that their doomsday predictions are simply not correct."

Instead, Exelon said EPA was "well within" its legal authority to issue the proposal, which would require existing plants to reduce carbon dioxide emissions 30 percent from 2005 levels by 2030.  The Clean Power Plan was "legally and scientifically required," Barrón said in Exelon's comments.

The Chicago, Ill.-based utility has aligned with other major U.S. companies within the Clean Energy Group -- a coalition of electric utilities and electric generating companies that includes National Grid, Nextera Energy, PG&E Corp. and Calpine Corp. -- in defending the rule while calling for nuclear plants to receive more credit.

But Exelon -- and the nuclear industry as a whole -- is far from fully satisfied with the EPA proposal.

David Brown, Exelon's senior vice president, government affairs and public policy, said during an interview this week that the EPA rule, as it stands, doesn't do enough to support nuclear energy.  Brown's sentiment reflects earlier comments from the Nuclear Energy Institute.

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