The Subcommittee on Energy and Power, chaired Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY), has scheduled a hearing for Tuesday, July 29, 2014, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The hearing is entitled, “FERC Perspectives: Questions Concerning EPA’s Proposed Clean Power Plan and other Grid Reliability Challenges." The subcommittee has invited all five Commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to testify.
At next week’s hearing, members will have the opportunity to question the FERC Commissioners about how new federal environmental regulations would affect the nation’s electric grid and energy prices, as well as other emerging threats to our power supply.
“I have serious concerns about how President Obama’s extreme policies will impact the nation’s electric grid. EPA’s ‘clean power plan’ does not explain how states and utilities will be able to keep the lights on while being forced to limit power options. Any plan which seeks to prohibit the use of coal - one of our nation’s most abundant and affordable energy sources - will surely drive up energy costs and threaten reliability," said Chairman Whitfield. “I look forward to hearing the FERC Commissioners’ perspective on these new regulations and learning about what steps the agency is taking to ensure consumers continue to have access to affordable and reliable electricity."
Ahead of the hearing, the subcommittee sent the FERC Commissioners questions related to EPA’s recently proposed carbon regulations for existing power plants, asking they each provide written responses as part of their testimony submission.as they are posted.
