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   On December 21, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued long-awaited regulations requiring, for the first time ever, coal- and oil-fired power plants to implement Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards to reduce emissions of mercury and other hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) from their boilers. The so-called “Utility MACT rule” affects about 1,200 U.S. power plants, but EPA estimates that at least half of these plants already have the necessary pollution controls in place to comply with the standards. Even so, the agency modified the original proposal to allow more compliance flexibility for those facilities that have not yet installed such controls. Regulated entities will have three years to comply with the rule, but the Obama administration said that it is encouraging states to provide a fourth year for those entities that need it and, if some require even more time, to work out a “well-defined pathway to address any localized reliability problems should they arise,” EPA said.Despite the additional compliance flexibility, some regulated companies and U.S. Congressmen said that the rule, in its current form, will still raise electricity prices and threaten jobs and the reliability of the electric grid. Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), the ranking Republican on the Senate Environment Committee, has indicated that he will file a joint resolution to block implementation of the rule. Yet not all affected companies oppose the Utility MACT standards.    “Although we are still evaluating the details of the rule, we believe the EPA has finalized a reasonable rule, and that the industry is well-positioned to comply with the limits while maintaining the reliability of the electric system,” said Jack Fusco, CEO and President of Calpine Corp. “The evidence is compelling,” he added, noting that nearly 60% of U.S. coal-fired power plants have installed or are installing scrubbers, and that the industry added more than 115 gigawatts of new natural gas-fired generating capacity over a three- to four-year period in the early 2000s, demonstrating the ability of the industry to act quickly when required.