TPPF Releases Report Examining Department of Energy’s Rule on Grid Resiliency

AUSTIN – Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation’s Center for Economic Freedom released Overview of the Department of Energy’s Proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule by Bill Peacock. The paper provides an overview of the reliability challenges of the U.S. electric grid, the flaws of the DOE’s proposed rule, and the path forward for improving the reliability and security of America’s electric grid.
 
“The DOE’s proposed grid resiliency pricing rule will force consumers to pay more for electricity to increase the profits of nuclear and many coal electricity generators,” said Peacock. “Giving new subsidies to coal and nuclear generators will not solve the problems caused by current subsidies to wind and solar generators. Instead, the path forward to ensure a reliable and affordable supply of electricity is to let markets work by eliminating subsides for renewable energy and reducing excessive regulations like the EPA’s Clean Power Plan that are pushing coal and nuclear generation off of the grid.”
                                                                                               
The Foundation’s research highlights that the DOE proposal ignores the fact that current subsidies to wind and solar generators, along with excessive environmental regulations on carbon dioxide and other emissions, are the primary reason for the reliability challenges we do face. Despite the DOE’s claim that energy markets don’t work, they do—Texas’ competitive electricity market with a reliable supply of affordable electricity for the next decade is the best example of this.
 
Peacock continued, “Texas consumers faced a similar battle against electricity generators and regulators from 2012 to 2014 when they pushed for a $4 billion a year electricity tax out of fears that Texas was running out of electricity. But the tax was defeated, and forecasts show that Texas has an adequate supply of electricity for at least the next decade.”
 
To read the full report, visit: https://www.texaspolicy.com/content/detail/overview-of-the-department-of-energys-proposed-grid-resiliency-pricing-rule

For more information or to schedule an interview with Mr. Peacock, please contact Alicia Pierce at [email protected] or 512-472-2700.
 
The Texas Public Policy Foundation is a non-profit free-market research institute based in Austin. The Texas Public Policy Foundation aims to advance a societal framework that effectively fosters human flourishing based upon cooperation and mutually beneficial exchange of ideas and speech.
  
Bill Peacock is vice president of research at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.