The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Sunday that it would allow Tampa Electric Company to operate without meeting all pollution controls at three of its facilities to maintain and restore electric service to Florida customers and critical facilities impacted by Hurricane Irma.
The EPA will exercise its enforcement discretion to issue a no action assurance to the company. EPA policy allows the agency to issue such assurances when it is needed to avoid public health and safety risks and no other options are available to address the matter.
It was reported that 331,613 Tampa Electric customers are currently without power.
Tampa Electric Company contacted the EPA, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and the Environmental Commission of Hillsborough County on Sept. 7 to request relief from permit conditions and requirements at its electric generating sites. The requested includes relief from emissions limits for certain pollutants, fuel usage restrictions, restrictions on bypassing or shutting down pollution control equipment and limits on hours of operation.
EPA has said that it “believes that the exercise of enforcement discretion in these circumstances is in the public interest and will help address the emergency circumstances in Florida.”
Under the no assurance letter, Tampa Electric Company must maintain good air pollution control practices and follow all other federal, state and local environmental laws. The assurance will expire on Sept. 19.
This week, the Florida Public Service Commission approved two Florida energy companies—Duke Energy Florida and Tampa Electric—to lower their rates.…
This year has already brought major milestones for the U.S. clean energy industry, with solar topping 100 GW at utility-scale,…
Regional electricity consumption in New England will increase by about 17 percent over the next decade, according to a new…
With the threat of wildfires a growing yearly occurrence these days, Avista announced ahead of this year’s wildfire season that…
The latest update to the not-for-profit Pacific Northwest Utilities Conference Committee’s (PNUCC) Northwest Regional Forecast painted a picture of surging…
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Global Infrastructure Partners have agreed to terms with Allete to acquire the Minnesota-based…
This website uses cookies.