I just do not get what "they" (all politicians here) are trying to accomplish. I know it is expensive for power plants to upgrade, but the govts. in the end wind up paying for most if not all of it through tax deductions, subsidies to the consumer and plant, etc. Then, the consumer is charged more for the remaining balance and their bills never go down once the upgrade is paid for in about a year.
A good example of this is your phone bill, which is probably $25 for basic service with $15 in pass on taxes and regulatory charges slapped on there. Another example is higher airfare (covers costs of fitting planes with new security devices as well as lessened travel) with an additional $5.00 per ticket security charge. Finally, my personal fav., 911 emergency services is $1.50 a month in GA , which is about $15 million a month with a rough estimate of 10 million phones - that is $180 million a year to run 911 - have you ever called 911? There are the peopke that did not know where Olympic Park was during the 96 Olympics in Atlanta - all that for $120 million a year, a sum most small citites do not budget in a year
So, all in all and over time, the precious bottom line and large bonuses of the power plant owners and execs. remain in tact. So, why not take the high road and just make cleaner air and rivers. Note: this is pretty much all politicians and not just the far right.