Moreover, this and other regulations in the chute put the industry at a crossroads. Although some plants have already been upgraded, older ones may close, analysts say.
The proposed rule, debated at a hearing in Philadelphia on Thursday, is all about better breathing, fewer health problems, and lower health costs for millions of Americans, the EPA says.
The agency estimates that by the time the emission reductions are fully implemented in 2014, each year afterward they could save 36,000 lives and yield up to $290 billion in health benefits.
Pennsylvanians would benefit the most, said the EPA's Sam Napolitano, director of the Clean Air Markets Division. That is because of a high population base and potentially large emission reductions here and upwind.
As for Pennsylvania's plants, most upgrades have been made at the newer and larger ones. So about 65 percent of the state's coal-fired generating capacity already has controls that would meet the new regulations, said Douglas Biden, president of the Electric Power Generation Association, a Pennsylvania industry group.
But many older plants are facing hard decisions. Much like a family with a clunker car, they have to determine at what point it is no longer worth making more repairs.
About half of Pennsylvania's 33 plants were built before 1971. The oldest went online in 1949, the year 45 r.p.m. records made their debut.
A National Research Council study released in October showed that older plants contribute a disproportionate share of pollution. Those built in the 1960s and '70s emitted 47 percent of the sulphur dioxide attributed to coal plants but produced only 32 percent of the electricity.
Although the EPA estimates the overall cost to meet the new regulations at $2.8 billion a year - far less than the value of the health benefits - individual plants may not be able to raise the capital.
