But it’s hard to deny that the Administration has tried to engage companies. Many regulated companies will of course continue to complain about the regulations-and indeed many corporate executives are skeptical of the new power plant rules. And the companies that do choose to install carbon capture technology to meet the standards will benefit from tax incentives in the IRA, helping them stomach the cost.

Companies face less stringent standards for existing plants that will retire before 2035 compared to 2040, as well as for plants that are designed to operate less frequently. While the rule will clearly push some coal-fired power plants to close early and impose new costs on the construction of new natural gas plants, it goes to lengths to ease the transition for industry. The attempt to win over power companies is evident in the final language of the rule announced this week. Since then, successive administrations have tried and failed to write rules that would stand up to legal scrutiny-often due to intense blowback from industry. Power plant regulation has been a source of tension between industry and the federal government ever since the Supreme Court ruled in 2006 that the EPA needed to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Taking such an approach with power plant rules was always going to be challenging. “The power sector then can take a look at the economics to comply with those rules at one time, or they can say ‘hey, to hell with the past, let’s invest more quickly in the future.’”

Regan told me that, in the past, companies have viewed the drumbeat of EPA regulations as “death by 1,000 paper cuts.” He wanted to present the power sector with “a suite of regulations” in quick succession, he said.

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