"Energy Industry Overestimated Cost Of Pollution Controls: Study"

"WASHINGTON -- A new report from the Center for American Progress examines some historical industry claims about how much new pollution regulations would cause electricity prices to spike, and finds that industry estimates have been higher than the reality.

The report is meant to draw an analogy to the current fight over power plant pollution, specifically greenhouse gas pollution. The EPA rolled out new rules last September. Opponents of the rules have argued that the regulations will cause an increase in electricity prices. The new CAP report draws on past examples of industry groups using similar arguments against pending environmental regulations.

'Recently, these industries have again predicted that government pollution limits would result in skyrocketing electricity prices. However, their record as prognosticators is quite poor,' the report contends. 'Their past predictions of doom were wrong, and so are their current claims that the Environmental Protection Agency's, or EPA's, first carbon-pollution cuts for power plants would be disastrous.'"

Kate Sheppard reports for the Huffington Post March 19, 2014.