Almost 36,000 comments from members of Georgia’s electric cooperatives, including Diverse Power, were recently submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in opposition to the agency’s proposal to limit carbon dioxide emissions from new and existing power plants. The comments were made through the Action.coop and TellEPA.com websites through Dec. 1, 2014.

The comments from Georgia electric cooperative members combined with more than 1 million comments submitted to the EPA by co-op members throughout the nation opposing the rule regulating new power plants. In total, almost 1.2 million comments were made from concerned members of the nation’s electric cooperatives.

“Our top priority is keeping electric bills affordable for our members,” says Diverse Power President/CEO Wayne Livingston. “Unfortunately, the bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., didn’t consider the impact this latest proposal would have on prices and the real world impact it would have on the budgets of families and businesses across America.”

Diverse Power receives 32 percent of its electricity from coal, according to Livingston.

“These latest regulations from the EPA might mean we have to shut down our most affordable source of power,” he says. “That’s why tens of thousands of electric cooperative members from throughout the country told the EPA that we cannot afford the continual stream of regulations.”

Livingston assures Diverse Power members that it is possible to deliver electricity while balancing affordability and environmental stewardship—but not under the latest rules.

“Coal is a low-cost, safe, secure and domestic energy resource that ensures the reliable 24/7 power people depend on,” says Livingston. “We cannot afford to cut coal out of our fuel mix.”

Diverse Power participated in a nationwide effort among electric cooperatives that collectively submitted more than 1 million comments to the EPA opposing new regulations for new and existing power plants.