US power grid faces ‘reliability crisis,’ warns energy commissioner.

The United States is Facing an Impending Energy Crisis

There are currently around 10,000 energy projects waiting for permits to connect to electric grids across the United States. These projects are designed to produce more than 2,000 gigawatts of collective power, which is nearly twice the collective electricity output of the nation’s power plants. The problem is that the grid’s transmission capacity is not expanding fast enough to accommodate the influx of new projects, and coal-fired plants are being retired faster than new plants using renewable energy sources are being built to replace them.

A Reliability Crisis is Looming

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Commissioner Mark Christie recently warned that the United States is heading for a reliability crisis. He stated that “an increasing threat of system-wide, extensive power outages” is looming, and this is a crisis that needs to be addressed. Committee chair Sen. Joe Manchin and ranking Republican Sen. John Barrasso agreed, with both identifying the same culprit in an “impending, but avoidable, reliability crisis” that confronts the nation’s electricity grid.

The Culprit: Premature Fossil Retirements

The “premature fossil retirements” are a result of President Joe Biden’s green energy initiatives in 2021’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that incentivize investments in renewable energy. While these incentives have proven effective in inducing investor interest, they are also causing projects to be proposed and approved sooner than expected, and faster than the grid’s transmission capacity is expanding.

Natural Gas Shunted Aside

Barrasso blasted the Biden administration for contributing to the pending energy transmission bottleneck by discouraging natural gas pipeline development. He cited an April U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) report that documented the least amount of pipeline was built in 2022 than any time since such record-keeping began in 1995. Without restoring “balance” in the nation’s energy equation that includes coal, natural gas, and oil, “energy prices will skyrocket, grid reliability will degrade, and families all across the country will suffer,” Barrasso said.

A Transition Happening Too Fast

While the shift to renewables is applauded by renewable energy proponents, even those who support the shift to renewables are raising alarm about the timing of a transition that is happening faster than government capacity to plan and regulate. The Biden administration is “trying to force a dramatic increase in electrical demand” through the BIL and IRA, which will foster disruptions in transmission as old plants are retired and new ones come online.

FERC $520 Million Budget Not On Agenda

Much of the hearing focused on interim FERC Chair Willie Phillips, named by Biden in January to succeed Richard Glick. The hearing did not directly address the proposed spending plan. Under the Federal Power Act, Natural Gas Act, and Interstate Commerce Act, among other legislative and administrative actions, FERC is responsible for managing the nation’s electrical grid.

The Commission’s Members

Phillips and Allison Clements are the commission’s two Democrats with Christie and James Danly as its two Republicans. All addressed the Senate panel on May 4. With Phillips serving as chair, the five-seat FERC commission is down one member and evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. A fifth commission nominee has not been put forward by the administration.

The Industry’s Response

The Electric Power Supply Association and Interstate Natural Gas Association of America are among industry groups that have expressed concern about the impending energy crisis. They are calling for a more balanced approach to energy policy that includes coal, natural gas, and oil, as well as renewable energy sources.