Utility Dive•28 days ago
DOE emergency orders for fossil plants complicate utility planning, experts say
Key Takeaway
DOE emergency orders forcing fossil plants to stay open introduce significant regulatory risk and cost uncertainty for developers and large power consumers, potentially hindering clean energy transitions and grid modernization efforts.
AI Summary
- •DOE emergency "stay-open" orders are forcing fossil fuel plants to remain operational, creating significant regulatory uncertainty.
- •These orders are imposing hundreds of millions of dollars in growing costs on ratepayers, directly impacting energy prices for large consumers.
- •The situation is sparking a federal-state conflict over energy system regulation, complicating long-term utility planning and investment decisions for developers and IPPs.
Topics
capacity-marketccgtemissionsfercpolicysimple-cycletransmission
Article Content
Lawyers and officials are divided on whether the “stay-open” orders threaten states’ ability to regulate their own energy systems. Environmental groups put the cost to ratepayers in the hundreds of millions, and growing.