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The 'bomb cyclone' is contradicting Rick Perry's argument for coal
Retweeted by David Fahrenthold: https://twitter.com/Fahrenthold
The "bomb cyclone" is contradicting Rick Perry’s argument for coal
Link to tweet
Energy and Environment
The ‘bomb cyclone’ is contradicting Rick Perry’s argument for coal
By Steven Mufson January 5 at 8:00 AM
The cold weather and swirling winds gripping the northeastern United States have created the sort of winter scenario that Energy Secretary Rick Perry has cited as a reason to bolster the reliability of the grid by boosting coal and nuclear power plants. Perry said that only those power plants could assure reliability because only they could keep 90 days’ fuel supply on site.
But so far in this windy two-week cold snap, the region’s electricity grid has responded with little disruption, and without any need to rev up aging coal plants, which supplied 6 percent of electricity in New England on Thursday.
And the biggest failure Thursday came from a power line failure that forced Entergy Corp. to shut down its 688 megawatt Pilgrim nuclear power plant in eastern Massachusetts. No homes were affected, however, because the grid reserve was three times as big.
....
The organization that runs the PJM regional grid, which stretches from Chicago to New Jersey, has opposed Perry’s proposal to the independent regulators at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. ... On Thursday it asserted in a blog post that the storm was not posing any power supply problems. “During the cold weather, PJM has had adequate power supplies and maintained operating reserve margins,” the group said in its “Inside Lines” blog. “There have been no concerns with fuel availability. No reliability issues are expected through the weekend.” ... PJM added that it was managing the highest winter load since 2015.
....
Steven Mufson covers energy and other financial matters. Since joining The Post, he has covered the White House, China, economic policy and diplomacy. Follow @StevenMufson. Follow @StevenMufson
The ‘bomb cyclone’ is contradicting Rick Perry’s argument for coal
By Steven Mufson January 5 at 8:00 AM
The cold weather and swirling winds gripping the northeastern United States have created the sort of winter scenario that Energy Secretary Rick Perry has cited as a reason to bolster the reliability of the grid by boosting coal and nuclear power plants. Perry said that only those power plants could assure reliability because only they could keep 90 days’ fuel supply on site.
But so far in this windy two-week cold snap, the region’s electricity grid has responded with little disruption, and without any need to rev up aging coal plants, which supplied 6 percent of electricity in New England on Thursday.
And the biggest failure Thursday came from a power line failure that forced Entergy Corp. to shut down its 688 megawatt Pilgrim nuclear power plant in eastern Massachusetts. No homes were affected, however, because the grid reserve was three times as big.
....
The organization that runs the PJM regional grid, which stretches from Chicago to New Jersey, has opposed Perry’s proposal to the independent regulators at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. ... On Thursday it asserted in a blog post that the storm was not posing any power supply problems. “During the cold weather, PJM has had adequate power supplies and maintained operating reserve margins,” the group said in its “Inside Lines” blog. “There have been no concerns with fuel availability. No reliability issues are expected through the weekend.” ... PJM added that it was managing the highest winter load since 2015.
....
Steven Mufson covers energy and other financial matters. Since joining The Post, he has covered the White House, China, economic policy and diplomacy. Follow @StevenMufson. Follow @StevenMufson
PJM Inside Lines
