MONESSEN, Pa., Sept. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- John Pippy, CEO of the Pennsylvania Coal Alliance, made the following statement in response to the proposed federal standards on carbon emissions:

"These standards effectively ban construction of new, efficient coal-fueled power plants that greatly reduce emissions through the use of clean-coal technology.  This will force a reliable, affordable, domestically produced fuel source out of the energy mix, causing dire economic consequences across all sectors of the economy, with little or no environmental improvement to show for it. 

"Pennsylvania's economy will be disproportionately affected through the loss of thousands of middle-class jobs, and manufacturers, commercial businesses and individual consumers will all pay more for electricity. 

"We do not need to choose between a cleaner environment and reliable, affordable electricity and the jobs that go along with it.  We can have all of those things with a collaborative approach that relies on science and technology rather than on what is perceived as politically fashionable."

SOURCE Pennsylvania Coal Alliance