US Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Friday publicly called for an overhaul of competitive electricity markets so that baseload generators like coal and nuclear plants are “fully valued” for the “reliability and resiliency” they bring to the grid, a move sure to spark a furious debate within the American power sector.
On the same day the US Energy Department announced another multi-billion-dollar loan guarantee for Southern Power’s long-delayed and hugely over-budget Vogtle nuclear expansion project in Georgia, Perry asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to establish new rules for wholesale power markets that would allow “fuel-secure” generators to recover their costs and remain profitable, regardless of market conditions.
