NEI “disappointed” in FERC’s rejection of DOE resilience proposal

The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) recently issued a news release expressing disappointment in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) rejection of the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposal to compensate certain electricity generators for resiliency attributes.

NEI, however, said that “prompt action” on the matter is still needed.

“We are disappointed that FERC did not take affirmative action that would preserve our nation’s nuclear plants,” NEI President and Chief Executive Officer Maria Korsnick said. “The status quo, in which markets recognize only short-term price signals and ignore the essential role of nuclear generation, will lead to more premature shutdowns of well-run nuclear facilities. Once closed, these facilities are shuttered forever.”

According to FERC’s order, it is dismissing DOE’s proposed rulemaking because it could not show that the relevant market rules are “unjust, unreasonable, unduly discriminatory or preferential” to any particular generating source.

The order also directed the regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators (ISOs) to evaluate the resilience of the bulk power system and recommend additional actions needed to mitigate any identified issues. FERC also noted that there does not appear to be a uniform definition of resilience in the industry. The commission is seeking comment from the RTOs and ISOs and others to “achieve a common understanding” of what resilience means regarding the bulk power system.

The order directs RTOs and ISOs to report information on their region’s resilience to the commission within 60 days. interested stakeholders will then have an opportunity to respond with reply comments within 30 days.

“We believe the direction to the RTOs and ISOs to take a proactive stance on addressing and ensuring resilience must lead to prompt and meaningful action, including on issues such as price formation,” Korsnick said. “Time is of the essence.”