Now is the Time to Applaud Hard Work and Contributions from All Fuels
WASHINGTON, DC – The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), the national trade association for independent power producers (IPPs), today issued the following statement on efforts to reliably supply and deliver electricity while large parts of the country recently experienced many days of severe winter weather conditions:
“Providing electricity reliably, resiliently, efficiently and affordably during severe winter weather conditions is a serious matter. The focus of all concerned should be on doing so safely and without supply or deliverability disruptions given that lives are literally on the line. Praise goes to the dedicated men and women at all power plants of all suppliers as well as line workers, regional grid operators, reliability coordinators, and regulators who all work hard under tough conditions.”
“Now is not the time for any one fuel to hoist a self-painted portrait of fuel superiority as doing so is unseemly not to mention factually incorrect. Whether during severe winter weather, peak summer demand, or in between, regional power grids depend on a mix of fuels used in power plants with various operating characteristics.”
“Data from independent sources such as the regional grid operators does not support boastful claims that any one fuel saved the day. All fuels have played a pivotal role. Today’s electricity markets are designed to ensure a fuel neutral approach to achieve a reliable, resilient, efficient and competitive power system.”
“The ability of the Eastern regional power networks to meet the challenges of severe winter weather and associated high demand for electricity is a testament to improvements made since the Polar Vortex of 2014. Those seeking unjustified special treatment on the basis of fuel on site speak as if those improvements were never made. Recent days show such amnesia to be fatal to their policy position. Measures such as PJM’s capacity performance rules and operational changes since 2014 have put the power grid in a stronger position to deal with severe conditions successfully. For example, more than 40 percent of the natural gas fleet in PJM can run with fuel oil backup, and much of that did so reliably during the recent cold weather.”
Launched over 20 years ago, EPSA is the national trade association representing leading independent power producers and marketers. EPSA members provide reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities using a diverse mix of fuels and technologies. Power supplied on a competitive basis collectively accounts for 40 percent of the U.S. installed generating capacity. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.
