Reliability-Only Dispatch: Protecting Lives & Human Health While Ensuring System Reliability

The report advocates for a 'Reliability-Only Dispatch' mechanism to ensure that coal- and oil-fired power plants granted extensions to comply with the Air Toxics Rule operate only when essential for grid reliability. This approach is proposed as an alternative to 'blanket' one-year extensions requested by industry groups, which the author argues would unnecessarily prolong public exposure to hazardous air pollutants. Modeling of a hypothetical scenario suggests that this targeted dispatch approach could prevent nearly 4,000 premature deaths and save $29 billion in health damages compared to unrestricted extensions for the same units.

• The Edison Electric Institute (EEI) has advocated for a 'blanket' one-year compliance extension for all power plants in the United States, whereas five electric regional transmission organizations (Joint RTO Commenters) proposed a more narrow, unit-specific reliability safeguard.
• The proposed 'Reliability-Only Dispatch' approach would restrict the operation of units granted compliance extensions to brief periods when no other resource is available to meet electricity needs, thereby balancing the Federal Power Act's reliability framework with the Clean Air Act's public health goals.
• Based on modeling of a hypothetical limited number of unit-specific extensions, a properly designed Reliability-Only Dispatch approach could save $29 billion in monetized health damages and avoid almost 4,000 premature deaths over a one-year extension period compared to extensions without operational restrictions.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2011). Reliability-Only Dispatch: Protecting Lives & Human Health While Ensuring System Reliability. https://www.catf.us/resource/reliability-only-dispatch-protecting-lives-human-health-while-ensuring-system-reliability/

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Reliability-Only Dispatch: Protecting Lives & Human Health While Ensuring System Reliability. 2011. https://www.catf.us/resource/reliability-only-dispatch-protecting-lives-human-health-while-ensuring-system-reliability/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Reliability-Only Dispatch: Protecting Lives & Human Health While Ensuring System Reliability |date=1 October 2011 |url=https://www.catf.us/resource/reliability-only-dispatch-protecting-lives-human-health-while-ensuring-system-reliability/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2011reliabilityonly, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Reliability-Only Dispatch: Protecting Lives \& Human Health While Ensuring System Reliability}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2011}, month = oct, url = {https://www.catf.us/resource/reliability-only-dispatch-protecting-lives-human-health-while-ensuring-system-reliability/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }