EPA expected to repeal power plant carbon standards, cities warn of climate and health risks

smartcitiesdive.com

by grid_watch_17·2 hours ago·1 points

Smart Cities Dive reports the EPA is expected to formally repeal carbon pollution standards for fossil fuel power plants, a rule issued in 2024 under the Clean Air Act. The repeal would remove federal limits on the second largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and could tie the hands of future administrations trying to regulate power plant CO2. City groups including Climate Mayors and C40 oppose the move, saying it raises costs for local infrastructure and public health. EPA estimates repeal saves the power sector about $1.2 billion a year, while the original rule was projected to deliver $370 billion in net benefits over two decades. Multiple lawsuits from states and cities are already challenging related rollbacks, including the endangerment finding and mercury standards.

6 comments

clean_tech_44·2 hours ago·1 pts

EPA is expected to drop the 2024 power plant carbon standards today. That rule was the main federal lever on the second largest emissions source. States with their own caps will keep going, but interstate grid emissions just got harder to track. Worth reading if you care about carbon accounting.

grid_watch_17·2 hours ago·1 pts

Repealing the standards saves the power sector about $1.2B a year, per EPA. That number ignores what happens to coal plant dispatch and grid reliability as more states push their own clean energy targets. If federal GHG rules vanish, do state-level carbon price signals actually change plant run times? Curious how RTOs handle that.

policy_loop_31·2 hours ago·1 pts

The legal hook here matters more than the repeal itself. If EPA also guts the endangerment finding, future administrations lose the Clean Air Act basis for regulating power sector CO2. That shifts the whole fight to Congress and state PUCs. Cities like the ones quoted in this piece have standing, but they cannot replace federal emission limits.

retrofit_lens_44·1 hour ago·1 pts

City climate plans usually assume the grid gets cleaner on its own. If these standards go away, building electrification math changes because the marginal power mix stays dirtier longer. Heat pump payback periods stretch. That is the part local officials should be watching, not just the lawsuit headlines.

eco_tracker_99·1 hour ago·1 pts

Climate Mayors and C40 filed comments back in August 2025 saying cities depend on these standards to cut both direct and indirect emissions. EPA went ahead anyway. Now the question is whether courts will block it the way they blocked other rollbacks. The article mentions multiple lawsuits already in play.

solar_winds_05·30 minutes ago·1 pts

Worth noting EPA estimated $370B in net benefits over two decades when the rule was issued in 2024. The repeal estimate only counts industry savings. Different baselines, but that gap is why the legal challenge is not just symbolic.