News

The North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) released a study on Tuesday that concludes that utilities need more time to develop new generation and transmission than the EPA outlines in its proposed Clean Power Plan. Utility Dive quotes Malcolm Woolf, Senior Vice President of Policy and Government Affairs, in its coverage of the story:

In November 2014, the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued an “initial reliability review” in which it identified elements of the CPP that could lead to reliability concerns. Echoed by some grid operators and cited in comments to EPA submitted by states, utilities, and industry groups, the NERC study has made reliability a critical issue in finalizing, and then implementing, the Clean Power Plan.    In order to gain insight on the issue, the Advanced Energy Economy Institute commissioned The Brattle Group, a leading consulting firm to utilities and grid operators, to conduct a critical review of the NERC study. US News & World Report quotes this review in a report of EPA Commissioner Gina Mccarthy’s remarks about the Clean Power Plan:

Mix of new temporary construction and permanent jobs would peak at 5,700 under basic scenario, but reach 12,600 jobs if investments also aim to keep utility spending in the state – a number nearly equal to employment in Virginia’s commercial construction sector. 

This piece was originally published in Energy Biz Magazine's Spring 2015 edition. It is available here on Energy Biz Magazine's Website.