The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), the organization charged with protecting America’s power supply, today warned that the Obama administration’s power plant proposal would threaten the nation’s electric reliability. In a new report, NERC raised concerns about EPA’s assumptions in its proposed “Clean Power Plan," including the compliance timelines. NERC called for more time and increased analysis to determine whether the nation’s electric grid could withstand EPA’s aggressive proposal. The NERC report also stressed the need to build more natural gas pipelines and transmission infrastructure as utilities are forced to switch away from coal-fired power.
Energy and Power Subcommittee Chairman Ed Whitfield (R-KY) commented, “NERC’s report underscores the growing reliability concerns with EPA’s unworkable plan. EPA is seeking to eliminate one of our nation’s most abundant and affordable sources of power, but the administration has yet to provide honest answers about just how damaging the consequences will be for our nation’s power grid and our economy. We can’t afford to play a guessing game when it comes to energy reliability, and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure American businesses and families are not left in the dark."
Delay Urged in Obama Carbon Rules to Shield Electric Grid
The Obama administration’s plan to cut carbon emissions threatens the nation’s electricity supply by forcing old coal plants to shut before replacement power is in place, the group that oversees the U.S. electric system said.
The North American Electric Reliability Corp., a nonprofit that assures adequate voltage and power reserves to keep the electric grid functioning, urged the Environmental Protection Agency to consider delaying the first deadline.
“The proposed timeline does not provide enough time to develop sufficient resources to ensure continued reliable operation of the electric grid by 2020," according to the report from the utility-funded regulator scheduled for release today. “More time for implementation may be needed to accommodate reliability enhancements."
President Barack Obama’s plan to combat global warming is built around the EPA’s carbon plan, which would require a 30 percent cut in emissions by 2030. The plan is designed to replace coal as the chief source for electricity generation with increased use of natural gas, renewable power and energy efficiency measures.
The emissions plan will have wide-ranging effects on utilities, forcing changes that will upend models used for a century for generation and distribution of electricity.
The 27-page report NERC released today warned that reducing coal in generation means utilities need to build pipelines to plants using gas to make electricity. The EPA is also overly optimistic about the potential for renewable energy and energy efficiency measures, it said.
“Based on NERC’s initial review, more time would be needed in certain areas to ensure resource adequacy, reliability requirements, and infrastructure needs are maintained," the report said.
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