Good afternoon, my name is Doug Miell. I am representing the Georgia 

Chamber of Commerce. 

The Chamber is the largest voice of Georgia's business community. We 

understand that our members share one important requirement - the need 

for reliable and affordable energy. It is a major key to Georgia's 

competitiveness and success and underpins our business investment, 

employment growth and enviable living standards. 

The Chamber seeks to preserve this advantage for Georgia and its 

communities and, therefore, does not support EPA's decision to regulate 

greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act. 

The Chamber supports market-based development of energy generation 

capabilities, of which coal-fueled generation is an important component. 

Currently, the development and management of the state's energy 

generation and distribution systems is carefully planned to stimulate 

required investment, provide supply certainty & reliability and 

minimize, to the maximum extent possible, upward pressure on 

consumer pnces. EPA's regulatory processes must preserve these 

principles. 

Georgia has already achieved significant emissions reductions through 

the combined actions of utilities, regulators, and consumers. Ongoing 

change can be achieved without driving the state's economy into a ditch, 

or forcing consumers to bear the burden of inevitable price increases not 

only in power prices, but all manner of goods and services they rely on 

to underpin their quality of life. 

Data in the 2014 Georgia Energy Report reveals that in recent years, 

Georgia has significantly changed its energy generation mix and reduced 

its carbon emissions by fuel switching, utility investments, and 

consumption efficiencies. This can be attributed to a combination of 

market forces, regulatory stimulation and consumer behavior. All 

achieved during a protracted period of slow national economic recovery 

and without a debilitating clean power plan. 
Our state is a prime example of what can be done when providers have 

the opportunity to identify the solutions that make the most sense - not 

only for them but for the communities they serve, something they will 

no longer be allowed to do should the EPA's one-size-fits-all regulations 

be implemented next year. 

The United States can also learn a cheap lesson from the recent 

Australian carbon tax experience. During its two year lifespan, the 

carbon tax slugged businesses and industry $9 billion per year, power 

prices skyrocketed, all for a minuscule, barely measurable reductions in 

emtsswns. 

Businesses were hit with a tax that their international competitors did not 

have. Some closed, others shifted offshore, many struggled to survive 

and prosper. 

Clearly, taxation and heavy-handed regulation are not the panacea to 

achieving meaningful reductions in carbon emissions. 

This pathway delivered at best symbolic emission reductions, placed an 

undue burden on Australian consumers, and clearly illustrates the 

economic uncertainty that faces the U.S. economy if EPA's Clean Power 

Plan is implemented as proposed. It is not a pathway the Chamber 

wants to see imposed in Georgia. 

As has been demonstrated here in Georgia, it is indeed possible to 

achieve meaningful environmental outcomes- while maintaining 

affordable prices - without subjecting the economy to draconian 

measures that will hit business and consumer confidence, stall business 

investment and hinder employment growth. 

Rural consumers are likely to be hardest hit in this scenario and have the 

least ability to cope with any power price increases. 
The Chamber states that: 

• EPA is not completely focused on respecting roles defined by the 

Law. EPA's actions must allow the States ample time to perform 

their rightful roles and rulemaking authorities; 

• We do not support EPA's heavy-handed approach on many of its 

recent actions, often ignoring the specific needs of regions and 

states; 

• We are concerned that EPA appears to be rushing to achieve an 

arbitrary deadline without fully considering state-specific options; 

and 

• Individual Chamber members are very concerned that EPA's 

actions will undermine the reliability and affordability of their 

energy supplies, potentially impacting their business profitability 

and competitiveness. 

Our Chamber absolutely agrees that Georgia's natural beauty and quality 

of life are resources that should be protected - but we also believe that 

can be done in a way that does not risk our ability to create jobs, 

encourage investment, and maintain the globally competitive status we 

have worked so hard to create. 

We implore the EPA to take the needs of individual states, and our 

economy, into consideration before finalizing the rules as proposed in 

the Clean Power Plan. 

Thank you. 

Doug Miell 

Georgia Chamber of Commerce