January 09, 2018

Manchin Statement on FERC Decision

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) released the following statement on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision to terminate the Proposed Rule on Grid Reliability and Resilience Pricing and the subsequent decision to initiate a new proceeding to examine grid resilience.

“I applaud Secretary Perry for his ongoing leadership in making sure our electric grid is reliable,” Senator Manchin said. “I believe that action to prevent imminent closures of important baseload resources is needed, particularly because such closures are irreversible. And while I am disappointed and believe that FERC could have done more to address this issue, I agree that we must stay vigilant and keep the conversation about the reliability and resilience of our grid going.   I have long stated the electric grid is of the utmost importance to our way of life.  It just experienced days of significant demand and high stress due to the deep freeze of 2018 but performed well because of coal-fired generation. Coal continues to keep the lights on, especially when we need it most. It is imperative that we continue to find ways to recognize the valuable resilient attributes that baseload coal-fired generation provides to the grid. I look forward to hearing how FERC and the RTOs intend to preserve valuable coal and nuclear generation and continue their work to ensure resilience."

In October, Senator Manchin sent a letter to FERC asking them to ensure that coal-fired and nuclear baseload units, which make our electric delivery system more resilient and provide essential reliability services, are appropriately valued for their beneficial attributes. To read the full letter, click here.

In April, Senator Manchin sent a letter to President Trump encouraging him to immediately examine the potential for major reliability issues within the electricity supply and delivery system due to a series of factors that have put baseload coal-fired and nuclear plants at risk.  To read the full letter, click here.

To read the full decision from FERC, click here.

###