Supreme Court Delays Costly Power Plan, Wisconsin Celebrates

Top Wisconsin officials react to high court’s surprise decision

By Chris Rochester
February 10, 2016

The U.S. Supreme Court validated arguments against the Obama administration’s “Clean Power Plan” Tuesday night by delaying the costly agenda, granting a request made by 27 states in a pair of lawsuits.

Since courts only grant stays when there is compelling evidence of immediate harm, the high court’s decision demonstrates the solid ground on which the CPP’s opponents stand. The Supreme Court also rarely blocks regulations, and a D.C. Circuit Court had previously denied the request to delay the regulation.

“The Supreme Court recognizes the significant damage this rule will have on our economy and our way of life,” said Brett Healy, president of the MacIver Institute.

“By blocking the implementation of this suffocating and expensive rule while it is being challenged in the court system, the Supreme Court has re-established the proper checks and balances of our democracy and reminded the President that even he has to act within the law,” Healy said.

The MacIver Institute recently joined 26 other states in submitting testimony in protest of the CPP.

According to the testimony, “States are being immediately and irreparably harmed by EPA’s illegal effort to force states to reorder their electrical generation systems. Twenty-seven (27) of the 47 states subject to the Clean Power Plan are challenging it in court.”

It seems the Supreme Court agrees with the CPP’s opponents, including Wisconsin’s top elected officials, who were quick to praise the court’s decision.

The MacIver Institute has been a leader in Wisconsin in the effort to demonstrate how much damage the Clean Power Plan would do to the state’s economy.

A MacIver Institute and Beacon Hill study found that the CPP would cost Wisconsinites 21,000 jobs and $1.82 billion in disposable income by 2030. It also found that the CPP would cause the average household electric bill to jump $225 and would cost the average Wisconsin factory an extra $105,094 per year if implemented.

With the draconian bureaucratic overreach on hold, utilities and states can now await an ultimate decision on the the CPP’s legality without rushing to adopt costly long-term policies.

Appellate arguments for the “Costly Power Plan” are set to begin June 2.