EPA climate rule has safety valves. Here’s what that means.

Read the full story at ClimateWire.

EPA added several new reliability provisions to its power plant carbon rule that appear to come directly from the Edison Electric Institute — a major utility trade group that has been broadly critical of the pollution standards.

The agency’s marquee climate rule gives the nation’s coal fleet — and major new natural gas plants — the choice between capturing most of their carbon emissions by 2032 or retiring soon after. That has led to concerns about electricity reliability, with industry groups warning of blackouts and rate hikes as coal plants retire en masse in the late 2030s.

EPA’s final rule includes two new provisions to add reliability protection: one that temporarily exempts fossil fuel power plants from the standards during grid emergencies, and another that allows a facility an extra year to retrofit with carbon capture or remain in operation if grid operators can’t line up replacement power generation in time.