Statement from EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | February 18, 2022
CONTACT: Christina Nyquist | 603.930.8818 | cnyquist@epsa.org
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Two policy statements impacting natural gas projects issued yesterday by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which lack full Commission support, represent a departure from FERC precedent and undermine its mandate, said the head of the Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA), which represents U.S. competitive power suppliers. EPSA President and CEO Todd Snitchler also noted that natural gas infrastructure is essential for a reliable power system well into the future.
Snitchler released the following statement:
“Yesterday’s decisions depart from Commission precedent where Policy Statements reflect the view of the full Commission, not just a few. The reliability of the wholesale electricity markets has become increasingly dependent on adequate supply of natural gas, supported by well-functioning markets. As the North American Electric Reliability Corporation recently highlighted, natural gas-fired generation will be the needed balancing resources to reliably integrate increasing levels of intermittent generation well into the future. Yesterday’s decisions will undoubtedly make that more difficult. While FERC must respect Court guidance, it cannot let that jeopardize its Congressional mandate to be first and foremost an economic regulator tasked with ensuring reliable and affordable energy to American consumers. As statements from members of Congress make clear, yesterday’s decisions have also drawn bipartisan concern due to the impact the policy statements will have on reliability and affordability.”
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The Electric Power Supply Association (EPSA) is the national trade association representing America’s competitive power suppliers. EPSA members provide about 150,000 MW of reliable and competitively priced electricity from environmentally responsible facilities using a diverse mix of fuels and technologies including natural gas, wind, solar, hydropower, geothermal, storage, biomass, and coal. EPSA seeks to bring the benefits of competition to all power customers.Learn more at www.epsa.org and connect with us on LinkedIn and Twitter @EPSAnews.
