Sen. Cantwell, colleagues urge FERC to reject Perry’s proposed market rules

Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA) led a group of Senators Tuesday in sending a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), urging them to reject Energy Secretary Rick Perry’s recent proposal for new market rules.

The proposal would require organized markets to create and implement rules that would provide compensation to plants for reliability and resiliency attributes. The rule would mostly apply to coal and nuclear plants.

“We respectfully suggest that improving market competition is not the objective of the Secretary’s proposal,” the letter said. “It is likely to lead to higher prices for tens of millions of consumers, producing the opposite result of what consumers expect in competitive markets.”

In addition to Sen. Cantwell, ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Al Franken (D-MN), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Angus King (I-ME), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) signed the letter.

“We urge the Commission to reject this ill-conceived proposed rule and return, in a deliberative manner and with the benefit of a full Commission, to reviewing and building upon the record developed in existing proceedings related to the organized markets in a way that truly benefits consumers,” the Senators said in the letter.

FERC has 60 days to finalize, modify or reject the rule.