Bill > S1905

This bill, titled the Electricity Security and Affordability Act, directs the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on establishing standards for greenhouse gas emissions from new fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units, which are facilities that burn fossil fuels to produce electricity. Specifically, the bill mandates that the EPA must treat coal-fired and natural gas-fired units as separate categories when setting these standards. For coal-fired units, any new standard based on the best emission reduction system cannot be established unless that standard has been achieved on average for at least one continuous year by at least six different units across the country, and these units must be representative of various operating characteristics and have been operating commercially for the entire period, with no results from demonstration projects (projects testing carbon capture and storage technologies that received government funding) being used. Furthermore, a separate subcategory must be created for new coal-fired units using coal with a heat content of 8300 British Thermal Units per pound or less, and for this subcategory, the standard would require achievement by at least three different units under similar stringent conditions. For existing, modified, or reconstructed fossil fuel-fired electric utility generating units, any new rules or guidelines regarding greenhouse gas emissions will not take effect unless Congress enacts a law specifying their effective date and the EPA submits a report to Congress detailing the rules, their economic impacts, and projected greenhouse gas reductions. The bill also repeals earlier proposed rules and guidelines related to greenhouse gas emissions from these types of power plants.