Secretary Perry's Narrow Directive to FERC

Contradicting the findings from the Department of Energy’s August 2017 Staff Report to the Secretary on Electricity Markets and Reliability that recent power market shifts are not sacrificing reliability, and contrary to FERC’s mandates to support just and reasonable rates in a non-discriminatory manner, Secretary Perry’s direction to FERC to take final action on a proposed Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule seeks to shield coal and nuclear plants from market forces by providing full cost recovery and a fair rate of return. This proposed directive is a considerable leap from the Quadrennial Energy Review finding that “grid reliability may require adjustments to market mechanisms that enable better valuation”[1] or the Staff Report’s call for “A continual comprehensive regional and national review … to determine how a portfolio of domestic energy resources can be developed to ensure grid reliability and resilience”[2].