Trump and Perry deserve credit for not giving in to the coal industry
Standing up to your friends and doing the right thing is hard, particularly in politics.
That’s why President Donald Trump’s and Secretary of Energy Rick Perry’s refusal to rig the nation’s electricity markets and pander to coal mining executives is such a breath of fresh air.
Perry released his longanticipated study on the reliability of the nation’s electric grids late Wednesday. The findings will disappoint operators of coal-fired and nuclear power plants hoping for an emergency declaration that would force grid operators to buy their electricity, even when it’s not the cheapest available.
The study throws them a bone, though, by declaring that a “diverse portfolio of generation resources” is needed. Also missing
in the final version is the declaratory language that renewable energy sources do not pose a risk to grid reliability, which was part of the staff-drafted report leaked last month.
Coal and nuclear power lobbyists likely will read some of the study’s oldfashioned thinking about grid reliability as an argument to pay their plants a subsidy to keep operating. But in fact, the study’s call for “essential reliability resources” clearly states that any new rules should not favor one source of generation over another.
Perry appears ready to let the market decide which form of power generation will win, while applying his customarily light regulatory hand only when necessary.
All in all, it is not the frontal assault that natural gas producers and the renewable energy industry had feared. The study does tell us things we already knew, such wholesale electricity markets need adjusting to reflect new technologies and small, distributed sources of energy need to be integrated.
But the study will be the second disappointment for coal miners and coal-fired power plant operators in just two days.
Coal industry executives have been begging the Trump administration to use emergency powers for months to keep uneconomical coal-fired power plants operating, according to a scoop Tuesday from the Associated Press. Miners fear that if coalfired plants continue to close at the expected rate, demand for their product will plummet.
Robert Murray, CEO of coal mining company Murray Energy, called on the Energy Department to order a two-year moratorium on closing coal-fired power plants, or else his company and others would face “immediate bankruptcy,” according to a letter sent to the White House and obtained by the AP.
In another letter, Murray said he heard Trump tell Perry, “I want this done.”
White House and Energy Department officials confirmed Tuesday that it’s not going to happen.
Last month, I reported on the coal mining industry’s effort to persuade Perry to declare a state of emergency and how it would lead to higher power prices. Ordering electric grid operators to purchase power from uneconomical coal plants would also hurt the natural gas and renewable energy industries.
Trump and Perry may not have to pay much of a political price for their recent decisions, thanks to rising coal prices in recent months, according to Chronicle Washington correspondent James Osborne. Though the coal surge has little to do with Trump’ s policies, that doesn’ t mean he can’ t take credit for it.
Perry and his boss made the right decision to not make American consumers pay more to protect an industry that frankly should be allowed to die. Burning coal to make electricity makes no economic sense anymore, and we should allow it to fade away.
The renewable power industry owes more to Perry than it would like to admit. As governor he promoted wind energy, which is why Texas has more installed wind generation than any other state.
There’s a lot not like in Perry’s study, but he refrained from making the politically expedient decision that could have cost the renewable industry dearly. He deserves credit for sticking to his commitment to free markets and light regulation.