On the surface, accepting the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan sounds like a great idea — reduced carbon emissions and pollution, ideally leading to cleaner air. Yes, this is a great idea. But at what cost?

This is just another example of the federal government get- ting involved in state matters and proposing regulations that create catastrophic consequences. I’ve learned that Virginia is held to a higher clean air/carbon standard than our neighbors (Virginia is required to reduce almost twice as much carbon emission as West Virginia and Kentucky), and it will cost us billions to shut down the power stations that have been operating fine for decades.

When we have to shut down power stations, is the demand for electricity lower and do people stop using power? Power still would need to be generated, which means new power stations would need to be built. In turn, we would then have to pay to build those new power stations to compensate for the loss of the ones already efficiently and safely operating today.

I’m supporting Sen. Frank Wagner’s bill, which gives Vir- ginia time to figure out how to deal with these regulations and freezes electric customers’ rates for several years. I, and everyone else I know, enjoy low electric rates, high reliability and some of the cleanest, most modern power production in the country. Do I want clean air? Absolutely. But I sure don’t want to pay the price for yet another law that doesn’t take into account the cost of implementation.

JOSEPH SAYLOR

Chesterfield County