Willie Phillips

08Nov

Will FERC Hold EPA to Account?

This Thursday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is holding its annual technical conference on grid reliability. Of particular interest is the attention FERC and its expert witnesses will give to examining the impact the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) so-called Clean Power Plan 2.0 will have on reliability. FERC is digging into reliability at […]
01Nov

The Next Winter Reliability Crisis is Almost Here

It may have been a balmy 80 degrees in the nation’s capital this week but make no mistake, winter is coming and with it ever-greater concern about the perilous state of the nation’s electricity grid. For all the white knuckling from grid operators during summer months, when heat waves and record demand stressed power supply […]
04Oct

The Gas Reliability Gap

The U.S. has a natural gas problem. While regulatory pressure continues to place an ever-greater burden on the gas fleet and gas infrastructure to provide dispatchable power when it’s needed most, the gas system is again and again showing it’s simply not up to the challenge. The latest alarming example comes from the after-action report […]
31May

The Senate Takes Measure of the Reliability Crisis

The Wall Street Journal asked in a recent editorial, “How many warnings does it take before the Biden Administration wakes up to the risks from its climate policies to the U.S. electric grid?” Here’s hoping it’s less than the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a tootsie pop—mathematicians at New […]
10May

FERC Testifies to the Importance of the Coal Fleet

As the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) charges ahead with its regulatory agenda aimed at driving the coal fleet off the grid, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was on Capitol Hill last week warning of dire grid reliability consequences from the accelerating loss of essential coal capacity From FERC to the North American Electric […]
20Oct

Soaring Energy Prices are Threatening to Wreck Recovery

Americans are alarmed over the rising cost of energy. According to new polling from Morning Consult, 85% of Americans are concerned about rising energy prices, with 50% very concerned. This concern cuts across party lines, with 85% of Democrats concerned and 89% of Republicans. This soaring concern comes as the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) warns […]