The Trump administration is rolling back federal regulations that limited greenhouse gas emissions from coal- and gas-fired power plants. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claims that Section 111 of the Clean Air Act does not allow it to regulate power plant emissions to combat climate change. The agency is also removing emissions standards for equipment that captures and stores carbon dioxide at coal-fired plants undergoing major upgrades, as well as for new gas-fired turbines that operate frequently. This equipment helps prevent carbon dioxide emissions from entering the atmosphere, where they contribute to global warming. The EPA estimates that removing these rules will save $310 billion in overall economic costs from 2026 to 2047. This includes savings from not having to invest in carbon capture and storage technology, allowing efficient new gas plants to operate more frequently without capturing their emissions, and keeping more coal plants open, which could reduce the need to build new power plants. The agency projects that average electricity prices for homes and businesses could be 5.8% lower in 2035 if these limits are removed. However, keeping older coal plants operational, building new natural gas plants, and decisions about pollution controls all impact electricity bills. Additional pollution from these sources can lead to health problems and environmental damage that may not be reflected in those bills. The EPA’s $310 billion savings estimate does not account for the $130 billion in costs associated with increased illnesses and premature deaths from exposure to fine particles and ozone pollution, which the agency estimated would occur from 2026 to 2047. A specific example of the impact of keeping old coal plants open is the J.H. Campbell coal plant in West Olive, Michigan. The plant’s owner, Consumers Energy, had planned to shut it down by May 31, 2025. However, the U.S. Department of Energy ordered the company to keep the plant running, citing concerns about the stability of the electricity grid. The company reported that running the plant from May 2025 to June 2026 cost $259 million, more than the $239 million in revenue it earned from the electricity market. Consumers Energy has requested permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to pass these extra costs on to customers in the Midwest. Legal challenges to the order requiring the plant to stay open are currently underway. The repeal of emissions limits could have wide-reaching effects, both nationally and globally, potentially reducing U.S. investment in technologies that capture and store carbon dioxide from industries and the atmosphere.