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Mid-Carolina Electric CEO Paulling to testify before Congress September 13 on reliability concerns

Mid-Carolina Electric Cooperative CEO Bob Paulling will testify before Congress on Wednesday on issues affecting power supply and the reliability of America’s electric grid.

Paulling will appear before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 in 2123 Rayburn House Office Building at a legislative hearing entitled “Keeping the Lights On: Enhancing Reliability and Efficiency to Power American Homes.”

"During extreme heat or cold, our power grid is at the brink of collapse,” Paulling said. “We are at a crossroads with two options: bring everyone to the table and address America's power generation issues or continue kicking the can down the road and prepare for blackouts. I am testifying in the hope that someone will have the audacity to take action, stop the premature retirement of power plants, and create responsible, common-sense plans for our country's energy future.”

The panel is chaired by U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan, whose district includes a significant portion of Mid-Carolina Electric’s service territory. Among a number of topics, Paulling is expected to testify on the Environmental Protection Agency’s newly proposed regulations on power plants and the harm those regulations pose for rural South Carolinians.

Last month, Mid-Carolina Electric joined electric cooperatives in South Carolina and across the country in filing comments opposing the proposed EPA regulations, which seek to force energy producers to abandon reliable forms of power generation even as demand for electricity skyrockets.