"A utility’s ability and willingness to comply with the proposal comes down to the company’s experience with renewable energy, its location and local politics."

"One of the sticking points in the $3.5 trillion spending bill in Congress is a clean energy policy that would use financial incentives and penalties to get utilities to accelerate their shift to carbon-free electricity.

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), has criticized the provision because he says it would pay utilities to do what many of them are already doing and harm the coal industry. His concerns are a big reason that hopes are fading that Congress will quickly vote to approve the measure.

Manchin is hearing objections back home like those of American Electric Power, the parent company of West Virginia’s largest electricity utility, whose leaders warn that the policy would harm the reliability of the grid and lead to a surge in electricity prices.

With tensions on Capitol Hill high, I set out this week to understand what’s driving the differing ways utilities view the clean energy proposal, which could turn on a spigot of federal money. Despite the opportunity to pad their earnings, some companies, like AEP, are urging caution about the clean energy proposal, while others, like PSEG in New Jersey, are embracing the plan."

Dan Gearino reports for Inside Climate News September 30, 2021. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"How Dems’ Clean Electricity Plan Hits Nuclear, Gas, FERC" (E&E News) [3]

"Meet the CEPP, the Biggest Federal Climate Policy You’ve Never Heard Of" (Grist) [4]

"Biden’s Green Power Plan Is Good for Solar and Also … Bankers?" (Bloomberg Environment) [5]

"How Dems’ Clean Electricity Plan Would Change Utilities" (E&E News) [6]