Government Energy Policy, Business and Technology

Court Sides with FERC, Against Consumers and Clean Energy

Renewable Energy World: The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval of controversial new rules for America’s largest power market. We are disappointed because these rules unnecessarily funnel money from electricity consumers to fossil and nuclear power plants while largely excluding competition from reliable, economical wind and solar power and demand response (paying volunteers to cut electricity use when the grid is stressed).

Procurements in solar, wind, and demand response fell as a result of the new rules fully taking effect in PJM, the electric grid operator serving 65 million electricity customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Midwest. While the price per megawatt was not as high as it could have been largely due to cheap natural gas flooding the system and falling electricity demand, consumers are paying too much because PJM had consumers buy fossil-fuel and nuclear resources that are more expensive than clean energy.

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