Subject: No bailout for coal and nuclear companies
Dear President Trump and Secretary Perry,
I am writing to oppose your plan to require utilities to buy power from uneconomic coal and nuclear power providers. This would drive up monthly costs for ratepayers by as much as $65 million, or about $500 more per year for the average consumer.
Your administration's justification for the bailout is to address the "emergency" of grid reliability as these aging power plants go out of business, but there is no evidence for this claim. In fact, PJM, the grid operator where most of the affected coal and nuclear plants operate, states there is no reliability emergency. This is a position shared by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, the federal body responsible for power reliability, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). FERC unanimously rejected an earlier version of the bailout.
The federal government should not force taxpayers and ratepayers to prop up failing businesses. The costs for solar and other renewable energy sources have declined to the point where coal and nuclear are having a hard time competing. Instead of letting the market decide, you are trying to interfere with the on-going transformation towards cleaner, more affordable energy.
[Your comments]
I urge you to drop this unwarranted intrusion into the nation's energy market.
Sincerely,
[Your name]
