Former PSC commissioner calls on governor to opt out of Clean Power Plan

Former Public Service Commission member Terry Jarrett is calling on Governor Nixon to opt out of the EPA’s Clean Power Plan.

The governor would have that power should Congress pass Sen. Roy Blunt’s bill that would give state governor’s the ability to opt out of the Clean Power Plan if they feel it would harm their state’s economies.

Jarrett’s argument is laid out below in a letter to the editor of the Kansas City Star printed over the holiday weekend.

“If it becomes the law of the land, the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Power Plan would drive up the price of electricity in Missouri and lead to the destruction of good-paying jobs in energy-intensive industries such as manufacturing.

More than that, it would radically reshape the relationship between federal and state governments, relocating decision-making about how a state generates electricity from the state capitol to EPA headquarters.

Understanding the threat that Clean Power Plan poses to Missouri’s economy, Sen. Roy Blunt recently co-sponsored the Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act. Under the bill, governors including Gov. Jay Nixon would have the power to opt out of the Clean Power Plan if they believe it would harm their state’s economies.

Just as important, the Affordable Reliable Energy Now Act would protect states that refuse to comply with the job-killing mandates of the Clean Power Plan from the all-too-real danger of federal retaliation.

Thanks to Sen. Blunt, Gov. Nixon could have the tools to protect Missouri’s economy from this latest egregious federal overreach — but would he take advantage of it?”