AEP Dumps ALEC to Help States Implement Clean Power Plan, Expedite Renewable Energy

[eridani]

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/33956-aep-dumps-alec-to-help-states-implement-clean-power-plan-expedite-renewable-energy

It appears that nearly everybody wants to disassociate itself from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), a conservative lobbying group that fights climate change policies. Its latest departure? American Electric Power (AEP), one of the nation’s largest utilities. If that wasn’t bad enough for ALEC, AEP said in it’s announcement it will be shifting its focus to working with states to comply with the Obama Administration’s landmark climate rule, the Clean Power Plan.

“AEP will not be renewing its ALEC membership in 2016,” AEP spokeswoman Melissa McHenry told The Guardian. “We reviewed our memberships and decided to reallocate resources to other areas of focus including working directly with the states and other stakeholder groups on issues like the Clean Power Plan.”

The power company said that “there are a variety of reasons for the decision,” but at least part of the decision stems from the lobbying group’s controversial stance on climate change. “We have long been involved in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” AEP said.

While AEP was originally critical of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed Clean Power Plan, a spokeswoman told The Guardian that “AEP supports the EPA’s amended plan and the expansion of renewables in general.”