On December 1, the Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a teleconference to discuss reliability of the electric grid in the context of pending EPA regulations. DOE’s new review limited itself only to resource adequacy, which DOE admits is just one component of reliability assessment. Indeed, Commissioner Phil Moeller of the FERC identified some 22 areas of inquiry necessary to assess reliability, most of which the DOE does not address.
On the same day, Scott Segal, director of the Electric Reliability Coordinating Council (ERCC), issued a white paper about the DOE report. Segal outlined some additional points to consider in the wake of the release: (more…)