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We’re leading an all-out national mobilization to defeat the climate crisis.

Join our work today to help us build a thriving and just clean energy future. 

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The Clean Electricity Performance Program is Key to Delivering on Climate

Congress must deliver investments that will reduce U.S. greenhouse gas pollution by 45 percent by 2030. Anything less is unacceptable.

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100% Clean Power Climate in Congress

Congress must meet this critical moment in the fight to stop the climate crisis. The Biden administration has pledged to reduce domestic greenhouse gas pollution by at least 50% below 2005 levels by 2030—an ambitious target that can only be met with immediate and transformative action in Congress. Lawmakers must deliver on this commitment before President Biden attends COP26 in Glasgow next month. 

As federal lawmakers advance the Build Back Better Act (BBBA), as well as the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), they must deliver investments that will reduce U.S. greenhouse gas pollution by 45 percent below 2005 levels by 2030. Anything less is unacceptable. 

Cleaning up the power sector, especially, through a Clean Electricity Performance Program (CEPP), is the most impactful climate investment under consideration in Congress. CEPP is an incentive-based program designed to transition America's power grid toward more carbon-free energy over the course of the decade. Under CEPP, utilities that add more than 4 percentage points of clean power per year are eligible for federal grants—a rate of clean energy growth that is critical to maintain in the final bill. Utilities that do not add adequate clean power must make payments to the federal government— these payments are a backstop that ensures the program’s financial integrity. The program is proposed for 8 years, from 2023-2030, and must not be shortened—that would undermine its ability to deliver pollution reductions. 

According to an analysis released by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), investments made through the BBBA and IIJA could put the U.S. on track to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas pollution by 45% by 2030—a major contribution to President Biden’s commitment. But only if that includes a strong CEPP. In addition to Schumer’s analysis, modeling conducted by Energy Innovation’s “underscores how important the CEPP is to achieving deep power sector decarbonization. Without it, emissions are likely to be 250 to 700 MMT higher per year in 2030, which could eliminate more than a third of the total emissions reductions under the Infrastructure Bills.” (Infrastructure bills refers to the BBBA and IIJA combined.)

This program could reduce carbon pollution by as much as 750 million metric tons by 2030, when combined with long-term extension and key reforms to clean electricity tax credits, according to Energy Innovation. CEPP is also extremely cost-effective, achieving reductions in carbon pollution worth approximately $24 per tonne. The Rhodium Group shows that the CEPP would deliver the majority of pollution reductions from the power sector—the sector that drives the greatest pollution cuts by 2030—in this legislation. And a recent report from Resources for the Future found that CEPP and tax credits could together achieve as much as a 39% reduction in climate pollution below 2005 levels over the coming decade.

CEPP will drive an achievable, affordable and reliable clean electricity transition.

CEPP is Ambitious and Achievable: CEPP builds upon utilities’ existing clean energy commitments, as well as state policies, but demands and empowers much more rapid clean energy progress. CEPP hits the sweet spot by being ambitious and achievable, unlocking a rapid transition to more carbon-free energy with a technology-neutral policy that will create jobs throughout the whole country.

CEPP is Affordable for Utility Customers: CEPP uses federal investments to reduce customer bills and energy burden. Utilities must use 100% of their grant money for customer benefit, bill reductions, and worker support. If distributed evenly across customers, $150 billion in CEPP investments could reduce Americans’ electricity bills by 5%, compared to the same power sector transformation without federal grants. 

CEPP will Protect Grid Reliability: Multiple studies show that ambitious clean electricity deployment will not impair grid reliability. And CEPP is essential for confronting the extreme climate disasters that are right now wreaking havoc on America’s electric grid.

Here’s What You Can Do 

The most important thing you can do is to contact your members of Congress and tell them that they must pass a bold reconciliation bill with robust science- and justice-based greenhouse gas pollution reduction investments. Send a letter, then make a phone call right now. 

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