The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) recently made a timely and rigorous assessment of the reliability of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) new Clean Power Plan, concluding the nation needs more time to permit, plan and build the infrastructure that will be necessary for the Clean Power Plan.
The proposed Clean Power Plan has been a controversial topic, as some people believe that it will negatively impact the reliability of power in the U.S., while others believe that it will not impact reliability in any way.
NERC, which regularly assesses America’s bulk power system in terms of its reliability and adequacy, recommends caution in regard to the Clean Power Plan that would significantly change the energy generation, distribution, transmission and consumption of the
current
U.S. energy system. NERC has emphasized the plan needs more time to be developed and also recommended that states implement compliance plans that will ensure energy reliability.
NERC’s assessment matches those of many other industry stakeholders, public power utility leaders and states, and instead of disregarding these assessments as incomplete or untimely, the EPA must carefully consider these assessments and adjust the Clean Power Plan in order to maintain environmentally responsible, affordable and reliable electric service.
