“On behalf of Xcel’s South Dakota customers who very much would like their electricity to remain reliable 24/7/365 in good weather or bad, we ask you to reconsider your unfortunate decision to close King and Sherco prematurely. We do not want Xcel to be part of the impending problem of generation shortage in the MISO footprint. Reliability should be your number one commitment.”
What Others Are Saying
Below is a collection of quotes from industry experts, policymakers, officials, and others on various electrical grid issues. Use the filters below to find perspectives on topics like coal retirements, reliability, regulations and more.
Quote Filter
- South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
- South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
- South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
- Letter to Xcel Energy on the Planned Closure of Minnesota Coal Plants
- 01/04/2024
“And by the way, that is before the EPA came out with the power plant rule, which is going to make that number even worse, as every RTO knows. The numbers don’t add up. You lose 8 gigs of dispatchable, and you pick up 24 gigs of wind and solar, [you think] you’re fine right now. You’re not fine, because as we all know, a megawatt of nameplate wind and solar is not equal to a megawatt of nameplate coal or gas. It’s just reality.”
- Mark Christie
- Commissioner
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- "Nation’s Grid Faces ‘Rendezvous with Reality", RTO Insider
- 09/11/2023
“The first rule of holes is if you’re in one, stop digging. “If the fundamental problem we’re facing is we’re shutting down dispatchable resources far too prematurely, then the answer is to stop shutting down dispatchable resources far too prematurely.”
- Mark Christie
- Commissioner
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- "Rendezvous with Reality", RTO Insider
- 09/11/2023
“Commissioner Christie said the red lights are flashing, problems are coming. The problem generally is not the addition of intermittent resources primarily wind and solar but the far too rapid subtraction of dispatchable resources especially coal and gas.”
- Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY)
- Ranking Member
- Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- 05/04/2023
“PJM has recently said that we are facing imminent resource scarcity and yet in the last procurement auction the capacity prices dropped. During times of scarcity, if a market functions correctly, obviously the prices should go up. This is proof that the subsidies are working ill on the markets right now.”
- James Danly
- Commissioner
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- House Energy and Commerce Committee
- 06/13/2023
“You can’t just shut down your dispatchable generation overnight or within the matter of a few years and think that you can keep the lights on by simply trying to replace. My point of the megawatt versus a megawatt is the capacity value of the wind or solar megawatt is simply not equal to the capacity value of a megawatt. You can’t just keep the grid running with a 1-1 replacement – the numbers don’t add up.”
- Mark Christie
- Commissioner
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- House Energy and Commerce Committee, Energy Subcommittee
- 06/13/2023
“It would be wonderful if carbon capture technology could be mature to where you could run coal or gas generating units with carbon capture and actually remove all the carbon and have that benefit. I don’t think the technology is anywhere near being mature yet, but time will tell.”
- Mark Christie
- Commissioner
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- House Energy and Commerce Committee, Energy Subcommittee
- 06/13/2023
“… there’s an accusation there’s fear mongering going on with those of us expressing concerns about loss of dispatchable resources. I don’t think the head of NERC is fearmongering when he repeatedly says that this is a coming danger. I don’t think the head of PJM is fearmongering when he has said, we’re losing dispatchable resources at a rate we cannot sustain.” I don’t think the head of MISO is fearmongering when he says we’re losing dispatchable resources at a rate we can’t sustain.” I don’t think it’s fearmongering when the head of New York ISO last week said the same thing. I think we need to listen to the engineers, not the lobbyists. And I think we need to be doing what’s right for rate payers and not political narratives.”
- Mark Christie
- Commissioner
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
- House Energy and Commerce Committee, Energy Subcommittee
- 06/13/2023
“We have significant concerns about this proposed rule landing at a time when the promises of job creation and job retraining in the coalfields remain little more than words on paper. The next round of coal-fired power plant closures is coming. But the coal-producing areas of the country are still reeling from the last round, and they are not prepared for this one.”
- Cecile E. Roberts
- International President
- United Mine Workers of America
- Response to the EPA's Proposed Carbon Rule
- 05/15/2023
“Based upon what we currently know about this proposal, it is not going to be upheld, and it just seems designed to scare more coal-fired power plants into retirement—the goal of the Biden administration.”
- Patrick Morrisey
- Attorney General
- West Virginia
- Response to EPA’s Proposed Carbon Rule
- 05/11/2023
“… the reality is that our dispatchable coal power was one of the most reliable energy sources during the Winter Storms Uri and Elliott. Coal power plants saw significantly fewer outages than natural gas plants. The grid would have been absolutely decimated during these storms if our coal fleet was retired prematurely.”
- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)
- Chairman
- Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- FERC Oversight Hearing
- 05/04/2023
“It makes no sense at all to take tools out of the toolbox. No energy resource is immune to weather disruptions whether that be frozen wind turbines, frozen gas wells, or frozen coal stockpiles, all of which we saw in recent winters.” […] “There is no doubt that our electric grid is undergoing a rapid transition both in generation sources and in the types of demand the grid is called on to serve. The speed of this transition must be balanced against reliability and affordability of electricity.”
- Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV)
- Chairman
- Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- FERC Oversight Hearing
- 05/04/2023
“In some cases, generational retirements are outpacing new installations, and this is resulting in reduced reserve margins.”
- Diane Holder
- Vice President Entity Engagement and Corporate Services, Reliability First
- Reliability First
- WAND
- 04/13/2023