Electric co-ops press for repeal of gas power plant emissions rules

Leaders of several major electric cooperatives are pushing the federal government to fully repeal a 2024 EPA rule that limits greenhouse gas emissions from gas-fired power plants. The rule requires new gas plants that run more than 40% of the time to meet strict carbon dioxide limits and capture 90% of their emissions by 2032. Co-op executives, including the head of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, argue the rule makes it too hard to build the gas plants they say are needed to keep up with fast-growing electricity demand, especially from data centers.

The EPA proposed repealing the rule last year, and a review by the White House budget office was due within 90 days. That deadline passed this month without a decision, so the rule's future is still undecided. Co-op leaders say they need a full repeal, not changes, because they see the emissions threshold as unworkable and carbon-capture technology as not yet practical at commercial scale.

For homeowners, this doesn't change anything about your house or your utility bill right now. It's a sign of where the country's electric grid may be headed: more new power plants running on natural gas rather than renewables, as utilities try to meet demand from data centers and other large users. Whether and how this affects your own electric rates would depend on what your local utility or co-op decides to build, and on how this federal rule is eventually resolved.