“Speed to Power” and the Department of Energy’s Grid Proposal to FERC

"My frequent co-author, Glen Lyons, submitted comments to DOE, and I submitted comments to FERC, each supporting the secretary’s efforts to speed up the sector. Our responses call for federal policymakers to adopt Consumer Regulated Electricity (CRE), a bureaucracy-free approach that can bring speed to the electricity sector.

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CRE is a state-level policy reform that would allow entrepreneurs and private investors to chase the lucrative prize of new large loads (think gigawatt-scale data centers). It’s a quintessentially American approach to improving an industry: instead of relying on government to figure it out, we lean on entrepreneurs.

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Key to CRE is that it is off-grid, meaning it is not physically connected to the electricity grid that we all use daily. By being off-grid, there’s no need for state utility regulation. What does this then have to do with the DOE and FERC? By being off-grid, CRE is not part of the bulk power system. Common sense tells us this is true, but common sense doesn’t always shine through in the heavily regulated electricity sector. Therefore, our responses in the two dockets ask DOE and FERC to formally acknowledge that CRE operates outside of FERC jurisdiction, including the mandatory reliability standards created by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) and enforced by FERC."

If you agree that off-grid projects like those envisioned by CRE fall outside of the bulk electricity system, consider sending reply comments to FERC in support. Reply comments are due December 5. https://www.ferc.gov/news-events/news/ferc-issues-notice-extending-comment-period-proposed-anopr-interconnection-large#:~:text=filed%20comments%20in%20support%20of,Descargar%20Documento

https://www.cato.org/blog/speed-power-department-energys-grid-proposal-ferc