June 30, 2022
Today, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) does not have the authority to reorganize the nation’s energy grid.
Utah Attorney General Sean D. Reyes joined 26 other states in challenging the EPA’s authority in West Virginia v. EPA. The case centers on whether the EPA can use its authority under the Clean Air Act to require coal-fired power plants to subsidize renewable-energy sources or reduce their own production. The EPA’s plan would impose billions in costs, resulting in closed power plants, job losses, and substantially higher energy prices for consumers. Approximately 60% of Utah’s electricity is generated from coal-fired power plants.
“This case has always been about who has the power to make these decisions,” said Utah Solicitor General Melissa Holyoak. “The Supreme Court rightly recognized that Congress did not give the EPA the authority to make these significant national policy decisions regarding how Americans get their energy. The decision corrects the EPA from unlawfully imposing measures that cost hundreds of billions of dollars and impact millions of Americans.”