EPA Power Plant Rule Repeal: Nov. 2 Comment Deadline

The EPA power plant rule that electric cooperatives have pushed to repeal is now in two pieces, and they move on different clocks. On September 17, 2026, EPA published a final rule repealing most of the 2024 carbon pollution standards. It takes effect November 16. The same day, EPA published a separate proposal to repeal everything that remains, and comments on that proposal are due November 2.

For a generation and transmission co-op or a municipal utility with gas units in its resource plan, those two dates are the whole story. One is when part of the rule stops applying. The other is the last chance to put your own project facts into the record on whether the rest goes too.

What the partial repeal of the power plant rule removes on November 16

The final rule, published at 91 FR 58954, repeals three things, according to EPA’s own summary:

• the emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired steam generating units
• the carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) based standards for coal-fired steam units undertaking a large modification
• the CCS-based standards for new base load stationary combustion turbines, the phase 2 standards

Its DATES section reads: “This final rule is effective on November 16, 2026.” Until then the repealed provisions are still on the books. A plan, board memo or filing that describes them as gone today is ahead of the calendar by a month.

What the EPA power plant rule still requires for new gas turbines

The part that matters most for anyone building new gas is what the final rule leaves alone. EPA received comments arguing that the 2024 efficiency-based standards for new stationary combustion turbines, the phase 1 standards, are not achievable. The agency’s response, in the rule text: “the EPA is not revising or repealing those requirements in this final rule.”

So after November 16, the CCS-based phase 2 requirement for new base load turbines is gone, and the phase 1 efficiency standards remain. EPA points to its concurrent proposal as the vehicle that, “if finalized as proposed, would resolve commenters’ concerns.”

That is where the co-op argument now sits. NRECA’s September 15 statement welcomed the partial repeal and said other non-CCS requirements “remain on the books for new gas plants that would limit many units from running more than 40% of the time and others 20%.” Those percentages are NRECA’s characterization of how the remaining standards bind on real units, not figures stated in that form in the final rule. Treat them as the association’s position when you cite them.

The November 2 comment deadline on full repeal

The second document, published at 91 FR 59002 in docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0124, is a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking. EPA proposes “that CAA section 111 does not authorize the EPA to regulate emissions from power plants in response to global climate change concerns.” If finalized, that rationale would rescind the agency’s 2015 findings and repeal all associated 2015 and 2024 greenhouse gas standards for the source category, phase 1 included.

Its DATES section is the deadline: “Comments must be received on or before November 2, 2026.” EPA also asked that comments on the information collection provisions reach OMB by October 19, 2026. Comments go to the docket on regulations.gov.

Two scoping points from the proposal itself are worth reading before anyone drafts a comment:

1. EPA says it is not reopening the final partial repeal. Comments on that rule’s own issues are out of scope, except where a commenter believes the final rule bears on the statutory-authority question.
2. The proposal is a proposal. Nothing in it applies to a project today, and a final action could differ from what was proposed.

What co-op G&Ts have put on the record so far

NRECA has argued for full repeal of the EPA power plant rule throughout. Its August 20 account of an August 19 media teleconference named projects already in motion. Per that account, Oglethorpe Power is building two combined-cycle gas facilities and two gas peaking units over the next seven years, with the first combined-cycle facility totaling $3.3 billion. Associated Electric Cooperative’s CEO said the G&T is building five combustion turbine peaking units. And Basin Electric is building a $4 billion, 1,490-megawatt project.

In its September 15 statement, NRECA said co-ops plan to invest nearly $29 billion to bring more than 20 gigawatts of new gas generation online. Those are the association’s figures for planned investment, not counts of executed orders.

The procurement relevance is timing. A G&T sequencing turbine, generator step-up and switchyard purchases against a combustion turbine standard has two regulatory dates inside the next month, and only one of them is settled. The supply side of that same queue is its own constraint, which we covered in gas turbine scarcity and the distribution queue and in the May 2026 combined-cycle wave. Resource plans that lean on new gas, like Evergy’s gas development plan, face the same open question on phase 1.

What to do before November 2

• Date every regulatory statement. In board materials, write “repealed effective November 16, 2026” rather than “repealed.” Write “proposed for repeal, comments due November 2” for phase 1.
• Decide whether you have facts EPA does not. A comment that describes a specific unit, its intended operating profile and its schedule is a different kind of record entry than an association letter. If your G&T or joint action agency is filing, the deadline is fixed.
• Keep two scenarios in the plan. One where phase 1 stays, one where it goes. The final rule settles phase 2 and leaves phase 1 for a later decision.

The Feeder, our free weekly briefing, tracks federal rulemakings, FERC dockets and the supply signals that move procurement windows for munis and co-ops, with dates attached. Subscribe to The Feeder to get the next deadline before it arrives.

Related Reading

• Gas Turbine Scarcity Is Tightening the Distribution Queue
• May 2026 Combined-Cycle Gas Development
• Evergy Gas Pivot and SPP Procurement

Frequently Asked Questions

Has the EPA power plant rule been repealed?

Partly, and not yet in force. EPA's final rule published September 17, 2026 repeals the emission guidelines for existing fossil fuel-fired steam units, the CCS-based standards for coal steam units undertaking a large modification, and the CCS-based phase 2 standards for new base load combustion turbines. It takes effect November 16, 2026. The 2024 efficiency-based phase 1 standards for new combustion turbines are not repealed by that rule.

When are comments due on EPA's proposal to repeal all power plant greenhouse gas standards?

EPA's supplemental proposal, published September 17, 2026 in docket EPA-HQ-OAR-2025-0124, says comments must be received on or before November 2, 2026. EPA asked for Paperwork Reduction Act comments to reach OMB by October 19, 2026.

What would the supplemental proposal do?

It proposes that Clean Air Act section 111 does not authorize EPA to regulate power plant emissions in response to climate change concerns. If finalized as proposed, it would rescind EPA's 2015 findings and repeal all associated 2015 and 2024 greenhouse gas standards for fossil fuel-fired generating units, including the phase 1 standards. It is a proposal, not a final rule.