Nuclear Energy Institute submits comments to FERC on DOE’s proposed rulemaking
The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) submitted comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in response to a notice of proposed rulemaking from the Department of Energy (DOE).
The notice asks FERC to develop and implement reforms that would compensate energy resources for reliability and resiliency attributes.
The reforms, NEI said in its comments, should respect current and future state policies, contain continued reform of price rules, include a cost-of-service option at least until other market structures are implemented, and development of market structures to value resilience and diversity.
“Short-term prices should not dictate significant changes in our generation fleet, reducing the nation’s resource diversity and grid resiliency,” Maria Korsnick, NEI’s president and CEO, said. “Such changes would run counter to the federal government’s efforts to make resiliency a key component of its national security strategy for more than twenty years.”
NEI also warned FERC that the premature closure of nuclear plants could threaten the long-term reliability and resiliency of the grid.
“While we may not see the impact of a less resilient grid until another emergency challenges the delivery of electricity to this nation’s citizens, neglecting to address this problem today could lay the groundwork for serious breakdowns in electricity service tomorrow,” Korsnick said.
