RI Congressional Delegation Urges Federal Energy Regulators to Properly Account for Renewable Energy Resources
Washington, D.C. – November 25, 2015 – (RealEstateRama) — U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline called on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to improve the methods for projecting electricity capacity and setting energy prices across New England. In a letter to FERC Chairman Norman C. Bay, the Rhode Island delegation said the operator of New England’s power grid insufficiently counts so-called distributed generation sources of energy, such as solar panels on consumers’ homes, when tallying the region’s future energy needs.
“Simply ignoring large amounts of renewable generation is a mistake that costs New England ratepayers,” said Whitehouse. “I’m glad FERC has begun to push for some distributed generation in these auctions, but it’s time to give renewable energy producers full credit for the electricity that they are putting into the New England grid.”
“Whenever FERC overlooks renewable sources of energy in their capacity projections, Rhode Islanders are left holding the bill,” said Cicilline. “Although I’m pleased we’ve made some progress, it’s critical that FERC start counting the full amount of renewable energy on our electricity grid in order to bring down exorbitant energy costs in Rhode Island.”
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