Deregulated Power May Increase Smog

"Benchmarking Air Emissions of Electric Utility Generators in the United States," was prepared by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Public Service Electric and Gas Co.

The report found that pollution rates "vary widely" among the power companies. "Some electric companies put out pollution at more than 10 times the rate of other companies," said David Hawkins, senior attorney at the NRDC.

"The wide disparity in pollution from electricity suppliers demonstrates the need to include requirements for pollution caps as an integral part of electric industry deregulation legislation," Hawkins emphasized.

The NRDC report points out that independent power companies or "non-utility generators" now account for about 11 percent of the electricity generated in the United States. Many of these plants do not currently report their emissions to the EPA, and many of them don't have continuous emission monitors, investigators found.

Emissions from electric power companies contribute not only to smog, but to acid rain, visibility impairment, fine particle pollution, contamination of lakes and streams, climate change and toxic air pollution.

The NRDC report released today lists the American Electric Power as the biggest utility nitrogen oxide (NOx) polluter based on overall NOx pollution emitted.

American Electric Power's Chairman, President & CEO, E. Linn Draper, Jr. says his company is working to do better. "It is widely recognized in the electric utility industry that increasing stakeholder concerns and changing regulatory requirements are leading to higher standards for environmental performance," Draper stated.

During 1995 and 1996, American Electric Power reduced its sulfur dioxide emissions 25 percent, a total reduction in annual emissions of over 320,000 tons, Draper said.

"We also are committed to going beyond the requirements of law where it is cost effective to do so and return demonstrable environmental benefits," Draper wrote as part of American Electric Power's 1996 environmental performance report.

Regardless of good intentions and progress made by the utilities, loopholes in current law permit more pollution from older power plants, the NRDC study notes. "Unless these loopholes are closed, it will be cheaper to run dirtier plants, and that will lead to even more pollution," Hawkins said.

American Electric Power Tennessee Valley Authority, largest U.S. power producer The Southern Co. Cinergy Corp. Duke Power Co. Texas Utilities Co. Pacificorp Allegheny Power System Unicom Corp. (Commonwealth Edison Co.) Carolina Power & Light Co.

The ten dirtiest utility NOx polluters based on NOx emission rates are listed as:

Associated Electric Coop. Inc. TECO Energy Inc. (Tampa Electric) NIPSCO Industries Inc. (Northern Indiana Public Service Co.) Buckeye Power Inc. American Electric Power DPL Inc. (Dayton Power & Light Co.) CIPSCO Inc. (Central Illinois Public Service Co.) Illinova Corp. (Illinois Power Co.) Potomac Electric Power Co. Tennessee Valley Authority

Included with the report is a CD-ROM which contains extensive information on each power company to help consumers inform themselves about the sources and effects of the power they are buying. The information is based on 1996 data reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Energy Information Administration at the Department of Energy, the most recent data available.