Requiring states to plan for new grid reliability?
The State Planning for Reliability and Affordability Act requires state regulators to consider a new planning standard for “reliable generation facilities.” to be capable of generating electricity continuously for at least 30 days, have adequate on-site fuel or other available energy sources, be able to operate during emergencies, and maintain a steady voltage and frequency. States have up to two years to complete consideration, or can opt-out if they have comparable reliability standards.
Sponsor: Rep. Gabe Evans (Republican, Colorado, District 8)
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Opponents say
• "This bill is a thinly veiled attack on clean energy and is unnecessary. The definition of ‘reliable generation facility’ used in the bill is designed to exclude clean energy resources and energy storage technologies. If this bill becomes law, it would require state utility commissions to consider revising integrated resource planning requirements to include ‘reliable generation facilities,’ which the majority rightly points out in their report includes natural gas and coal facilities." Source: Minority Views, Committee Report on H.R. 3628
• "Utilities that engage in integrated resource planning already consider reliability. H.R. 3628 only politicizes this process by adding constraints to how a utility configures its generating mix." Source: Minority Views, Committee Report on H.R. 3628
Proponents say
• "Colorado’s overbearing regulations are causing energy bills to skyrocket, with no end in sight. This legislation puts Coloradans first by placing a check on the suffocating regulations that continue to make hardworking families foot the bill for their out-of-touch policies." Source: Rep. Gave Evans (Republican, Colorado)
• "There is no doubt that climate change poses a serious threat to the reliability of America’s electricity grid. What may be less known, however—and often actively obfuscated by fossil fuel interests—is that renewable energy can not only mitigate the harms of climate change but also support a more resilient grid." Source: Rachel Chang, Center for American Progress
- Congressman Evans Tackles Colorado’s High Energy Costs in New Legislation (Press Release)
- House Subcommittee Holds Hearing on Grid Reliability Bills (American Public Power Association)
- U.S. Grid-Reliability and Resource-Adequacy Overview (Department of Energy)
- What’s the Best Way to Expand the US Electricity Grid? (MIT News)
- Rep. Gabe Evans’s Largest Donors (OpenSecrets)
