Get the latest as our experts share their insights on global energy policy.
The Center on Global Energy Policy is providing live updates on key developments related to the Iran crisis. Check back here for the latest.
Hear in-depth conversations with the world’s top energy and climate leaders from government, business, academia, and civil society.
Grid operators sit at the center of many of the biggest forces reshaping the global energy system. They’re navigating rising electricity demand, a lack of transmission infrastructure, shifting...
Commentary by A.J. Goulding • October 10, 2017
By AJ Goulding and with research support from Stella Jhang*
Faculty affiliate A.J. Goulding explores U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s September 29 order to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to address threats to U.S. electrical grid resiliency. Goulding writes that the order, which instructs FERC to put in place cost-of-service mechanisms for power plants with 90 days of onsite storage, leaves FERC and Independent System Operators in a challenging position.
Goulding indicates the order appears intended to prevent market-driven retirements of coal and nuclear stations, which have been pressured by cheap natural gas and significant new renewables additions. He also notes that even if the order were to survive the inevitable litigation, the timeline for implementation is far too short.
The commentary argues the proposed solution to resiliency issues fails to take into account the physical realities of the U.S. power system and existing grid reliability requirements, as well as the distortions it would create by interfering with market forces. To reduce the order’s distortionary impact, Goulding offers five steps ISOs can take to move forward, and he concludes by outlining institutional challenges ISOs would face in implementation.
The US-Israeli war against Iran highlights the Gulf’s dual role as the backbone of global energy supply and a major source of systemic risk.
Full report
Commentary by A.J. Goulding • October 10, 2017