The Power Plant Reliability Act allows retiring plants to stay open for up to five years if their closure would negatively impact grid reliability.
The House of Representatives passed the Power Plant Reliability Act this past week, giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to keep retiring power plants open if there are reliability concerns surrounding their closure. Under this bill, if the commission finds that the closure of a power plant could contribute to grid instability within five years, the agency can require the plant to stay open for up to five years. The facilities would also be exempt from relevant environmental regulations.
“When a state seeks to close a power plant without identifying sufficient replacement, there is little recourse for affected households in neighboring states that need the power,” said Congressman Bob Latta of Ohio, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy. “The Power Plant Reliability Act solves this by providing a bridge solution to maintain generating resources until sufficient capacity can come online to fill the gap.”
Those opposed to the bill maintain that it is challenging to predict the impact of a power plant retirement five years in the future and claim that the bill would raise energy prices for families.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For wisdom for legislators in Congress as they consider legislation that supports reliable power sources in the U.S.
- For discernment for officials in the FERC as they determine if retiring power plants should continue to operate.
Sources: Roll Call, MSN
