Energy
Commission Moves To Force Electricity Costs Up, Air Quality Down
By Sarah Okeson
The wind and the sun may be free, but Trump’s energy
regulators want you to pay the same price – or more – for clean energy than what we pay for electricity
from our country’s aging, dirty coal-fired power plants.
The Republican-dominated Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave states and utilities just
60 days to weigh in on how to do
this in nation’s largest wholesale electricity market serving 65 million
customers in 13 states and the District of Columbia.
“We’ve never seen this kind of federal intrusion in the energy industries,” said energy
consultant Rob Gramlich.
The proposed changes could cost consumers billions of dollars
more. One estimate for a narrower proposal said it could cost utility users $14
billion to $24.6 billion roughly over the next 10 years. That’s between $216 to
$379 for each of the 65 million people served.
Fossil fuel’s share of how much energy we consume in the U.S.
was the lowest last
year that it’s been since 1902 when whale oil was
still being used. States such as Maryland and New Jersey require
utilities to generate some electricity from renewable sources like wind, and
states including Illinois and
New York subsidize nuclear power.
The regulators plan to expand the minimum price rules in electricity auctions for PJM which serves all or parts of 13 states and the District of Columbia. This higher base price would help make coal-fired power plants more competitive at a time when some coal companies are filing for bankruptcy.
Clean energy could help wholesale energy prices drop by 25% or more, but coal moguls such as Robert E. Murray and Joseph Craft, who donated a million dollars to Trump’s inauguration, want Trump to shaft consumers and keep polluting coal fires burning.
Trump has appointed four regulators, Democrat Richard
Glick, and three Republicans, Kevin
McIntyre, Neil Chatterjee and Robert
Powelson. Those Republicans voted for a plan that would in effect have
taxpayers paying twice for
clean energy, once for state subsidies and a second time at auctions to
guarantee that power is available at times of peak demand.
These “capacity markets” were
set up to try to ensure that enough electricity is available, but a 2018
GAO reportfound at least some of these markets may
not work well enough.
Glick, who voted against the proposal, said that the
commission “fails to recognize the cost of stymying state efforts to address environmental externalities, such as
climate change.” Democrat Cheryl
LaFleur also voted against the
proposal.
Miles
Farmer, an attorney for the National Resources
Defense Council, said the proposal
could ultimately also help clean energy because it would allow utilities to opt
out of auctions to buy backup power for times of peak demand and instead line
up their own power, including wind and solar energy.
Action Box/What
You Can Do About It
Call the
Republican members of FERC who voted for the plan that will help coal
companies, Kevin McIntyre, Neil Chatterjee and Robert Powelson, at 202-502-8000
or write at 888 First St., NE, Washington, DC 20426.
Contact the Natural
Resources Defense Council at 212-727-2700 or nrdcinfo@nrdc.org.