Attorney General Brad Schimel
Wisconsin is getting ready for what could be a huge legal battle against the federal government.
Attorney General Brad Schimel says the Environmental Protection Agency is getting ready to enforce new rules that would be detrimental to Wisconsin’s economy, hurting workers and employers. “If the carbon emissions regulations that the EPA announced last June don’t change very dramatically, Wisconsin’s going to have to get involved in defending our ability to have jobs here, because those carbon regulations would choke out jobs in Wisconsin.”
Schimel says Wisconsin consumers would see immediate energy problems, jacking up the price of electricity. “We get 62% of our electricity from clean coal energy plants, and those regulations would prohibit any of our current plants from continuing to operate. That puts us in a hole that will be very difficult to get out of. We won’t be able to move fast enough to get new energy sources online before the regulations kick in, and we also would see tremendous costs, billions of dollars turned back on consumers.” He says, “Those are the dual problems we would face. It would cost tons for consumers to have electrical power, and employers would not be able to absorb those costs.”
Schimel has appointed a deputy Attorney General that has extensive experience in energy law. Delanie Breuer was most recently with the Public Service Commission, but also has education and experience at a mechanical engineer along with legal experience.
WSAU