Electric rates going up; five Republican senators on hot seat

News Eagle 360 -- An Environmental Protection Agency rule—which by 2016 is supposed to reduce hazardous emissions from power plants by 90 percent—is in effect today thanks to a failed Senate vote in June. A YouTube video is calling out 5 Republican senators whose votes were instrumental in overcoming a bill to stop implementation of the rule.

The rule is called Utility MACT (Maximum Achievable Control Technology) and requires power plants four years from now to emit no more mercury than the best 12 percent of utility plants emit in 2012. That means emissions will be cut an estimated 90 percent.

What it also means is that the oldest coal-fired plants must be closed. It ends Clean Air Act clauses that grandfathered operation of the old plants because so many industries and communities were and are dependent on them. Oil-fired plants also come under the rule but the amount of electricity generated by such plants is miniscule. Nearly half of America’s electricity comes on line via coal-fired plants.

“The U MACT is the most expensive rule in EPA history,” the YouTube video declares and names the GOP senators instrumental in its passage. Viewers are encouraged to sign an online petition at epakillsjobs.com.  Producer of the video is Freedom Works, the political activist group dating back nearly 30 years that favors lower taxes and smaller government.

The video is prominently displayed at www.NewsEagle360.com, the popular online news source. Freedom Works and NewsEagle are partnering to provide political news to the public this campaign year. Chaired by former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, Freedom Works has been called “one of the most influential groups in American politics today.”

The effect of U MACT is increased electricity rates, according to The American Public Power Association. “The implications of this rule will stretch from industrial customers all the way down to residential customers and both sectors will most definitely see a rise in electricity rates as a result,” says Mark Crisson, CEO of the association.

If so, disgruntled electricity consumers/voters may pull the plug on Republican Senators Scott Brown, Kelly Ayotte, Lamar Alexander, and Susan Collins. Olympia Snowe is retiring in 2012.