Recently, two letters have been printed (Voice, Aug. 2 and 16) about environmental standards at coal plants and emission standards at older plants. As the manager of environmental services for Commonwealth Edison, I am compelled to clean up some misperceptions.
As a utility that operates 20 fossil units throughout northern Illinois, I can tell you that ComEd’s plants are required to meet stringent emission requirements from both the Illinois and U.S. environmental protection agencies. The Clean Air Act of 1977 established new performance standards for coal-fired plants. Existing plants were allowed to continue to operate within their state environmental standards but were also subject to federal EPA oversight on any revisions made to them. Further tightening of emission standards then occurred in 1990 and were applied to all coal-fired plants, existing and new.
Our sulfur-dioxide emission program has been very successful. Since 1975, we have reduced those emissions by 77 percent. By switching to low-sulfur Western coal in the 1970s and using the federal allowance program, we accomplished our goals of meeting all regulations in the most cost-effective manner.
ComEd works hand-in-hand with state and federal regulators to create emission-reduction programs that will work. Currently, we are partnering with other industries and utilities and the Illinois EPA to create standards for the reduction of nitrogen-oxide emissions. It is a collaborative process that will represent the best solutions for customers, the environment and businesses.
In July, our new chairman, John Rowe, announced a six-point strategic plan for ComEd that includes the sale of our coal-fired plants. Any new owner would also have to operate the plants in a manner that meets all existing federal and state regulations, including environmental restrictions.
At ComEd, we take our responsibility to our customers, their communities and our environment very seriously. We demonstrate our respect for the public health and the environment while providing safe, reliable and economical service to our customers by running our generating plants to meet the highest safety, performance and environmental standards.
