Coalition urges FERC to reject DOE grid proposal

A number of energy groups are banding together with the Affordable Energy Coalition to oppose a DOE plan they say could harm the nation’s electricity grid and raise power costs for U.S. households. According to a DOE Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, the plan would reward power plants that stockpile 90 days’ worth of energy onsite. “The DOE grid proposal would raise costs for millions of American families and make it harder for American businesses to compete,” said Michael Steel, a spokesman for Affordable Energy Coalition. AEC and its allies call for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reject the DOE proposal, when it finished reviewing the plan on Dec. 11. Among the groups siding with ACE are: Advanced Energy Economy, the American Wind Energy Association, the Electricity Consumers Resource Council, Energy Storage Association, Industrial Energy Consumers of America, and R Street Institute.