The U.S. Energy Information Administration on March 25 released a new study that concludes the annualized $836-million cost for achieving compliance with Phase I sulfur dioxide emission requirements in 1995 represents only 0.6 percent of the $151 billion operating expenses of investor-owned utilities in 1995.
According to the report, The Effects of Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 on Electric Utilities: An Update, electric utilities have brought 260 generating units named in Title IV of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 and their substitution and compensating units into compliance with the Phase I requirements. The 1995 emissions from these units (5.3 million tons) accounted for 45 percent of total utility emissions, compared with 62 percent in 1990. A detailed examination of six utilities found that their compliance strategies did not cause an increase in their electricity prices in 1995, as compared to 1990 prices in real terms.