Recently, I joined more than 20 Kentucky leaders, utilities, businesses, local officials, and community organizations in signing a letter from Dependable Power First Kentucky to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin. Our message was straightforward: Kentucky supports EPA’s efforts to restore balance to federal regulations that threaten the affordable and reliable electricity our families, farms, businesses, and communities depend on every day.
That should not be controversial. It is common sense.
Kentucky’s energy advantage did not happen by accident. For generations, the Commonwealth has benefited from some of the most affordable electricity rates in the region because our power supply has been anchored primarily by dependable coal. Natural gas has helped too. Together, those resources provide more than 90 percent of Kentucky’s electricity. Coal, in particular, has delivered around-the-clock power that has helped keep costs manageable for households and employers alike.
In counties like mine, affordable and reliable power is not just a political talking point. It determines whether manufacturers can expand, whether small businesses can keep their doors open, whether families can pay their bills, and whether towns can compete for new investment.
Electricity is one of the foundations of economic development. When power becomes less reliable or more expensive, Kentucky families and businesses feel it first.
That is why EPA’s recent course correction matters. For too long, federal energy and environmental policy failed to account for the realities of how the grid actually works. Rules that may seem reasonable on paper can have serious consequences if they force reliable power plants to close. The result is higher costs, greater reliability risk, and less energy security.
The proposed repeal of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule is an important example.
Effective emissions controls are already widely deployed across the coal fleet. Imposing additional compliance burdens on plants that are needed to keep the grid reliable would only add pressure to a power system that is already being asked to do more than ever. Kentucky families and businesses would ultimately bear the cost.
Kentucky should welcome innovation and new technologies, but an all-of-the-above energy strategy cannot mean forcing dependable resources off the grid before proven replacements are ready. Kentucky families, farms, and employers cannot afford to gamble with reliable, affordable power.
Kentucky’s message to Washington should be clear: do not make it harder for us to keep the lights on, keep bills affordable, and grow our economy. EPA is right to restore balance to rules that went too far. Now, Kentucky must continue standing up for the reliable, affordable, dispatchable energy resources that keep our families, farms, businesses, and communities moving forward.
Jon Park currently serves as Deputy Judge/Executive of Shelby County and is a member of the Dependable Power First Kentucky coalition. This statewide organization seeks to promote the Commonwealth’s energy security and the economic well-being of Kentuckians by advocating an all-of-the-above approach to power generation that leverages the best aspects of all available sources.