Cooperative Federalism

State Utility Commissioners at Ground Zero

At issue in this new environmental paradigm is whether the states will take the lead, or the federal government. And nowhere is that more relevant than the EPA's Clean Power Plan.

State utility commissioners in all 50 states are under a lot of stress. First, they must formulate and plan for the future of their states’ electrical grids and at the same time, keep their eyes on the developments in Washington and on the EPA whose Clean Power Plan (CPP) is the elephant in their room. It could be argued that they have a job far worse than the Maytag repairman: Instead of having nothing to do, they have everything to do. Currently, they may have the most difficult job in the US.