Washington — Earlier today, PJM Interconnection as part of its Resilience Initiative released a report to examine one critical element of grid resilience – fuel security. The findings underscore the importance of fuel security.
America’s Power (ACCCE) issued the following statement by Michelle Bloodworth, President and CEO:
“So far, some 40% of the nation’s fleet of fuel-secure coal-fired power plants has retired or announced plans to retire. It’s likely that even more retirements will be announced in the future. For that reason, we have been urging FERC and the grid operators to evaluate what could happen if coal retirements accelerate,” said Bloodworth. “PJM is doing the kind of analysis that other grid operators should do too. PJM’s analysis shows that accelerated coal retirements could lead to periods when demand for electricity exceeds supply. This should worry electricity consumers in other parts of the country, not just in PJM.”
The coal fleet provides fuel security by maintaining an on-site stockpile of coal that can last an average of more than 70 days.
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America’s Power (ACCCE) is a partnership of industries involved in the production of electricity from coal. Coal is an affordable, reliable, and fuel secure energy resource that provides almost one-third of our nation’s electricity.