National Mining Association (NMA) President and CEO Hal Quinn released the following statement regarding the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee oversight hearing today on grid reliability and security:
“‘Keeping the Lights On – Are We Doing Enough to Ensure the Reliability and Security of the U.S. Electric Grid?’ is the timely question posed by today’s hearing.
The answer is ‘no.’ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Acting Chairman Cheryl LaFleur said at a recent FERC conference that electricity reliability was ‘close to the edge’ on some days this winter. We may fall off that cliff and families can expect higher electricity prices and worse if the Environmental Protection Agency is allowed to continue advancing extreme regulations that eliminate more coal-powered electricity from the grid.
There is a better approach to our energy security and reliability. It’s a common sense approach that supports a balanced energy portfolio that includes coal, which generates more than 40 percent of our electricity—more than any other source in the U.S. today.”