By Michael Brooks and Rich Heidorn Jr.

Public utility commissions from coal-producing states are urging FERC to finish work on its docket opened in January 2018 to solicit information on the issue of grid resilience (AD18-7).

FERC has received letters from at least six state commissions, beginning in late August with the Public Service Commission of West Virginia, which urged “the FERC to move AD18-7 … to a high priority and consider the need for mechanisms and market rules to assure not just a low-cost, but also a reliable, resilient, fuel-secure power supply mix.”

The West Virginia PSC’s letter was followed throughout September by similar ones from the Alabama, Montana, South Carolina, Wyoming and Kentucky commissions. Though not listed in FERC’s eLibrary, Bloomberg reported that the Tennessee Public Utility Commission also sent a letter urging the federal commission to act.

Six of the states — excluding South Carolina — were responsible for 64% of total U.S. coal production in 2017, according to the Energy Information Administration. Wyoming (41%) and West Virginia (12%) ranked Nos. 1 and 2.

South Carolina, which does not produce coal, ranks third in the U.S. in nuclear power generation, getting almost 60% of its power from the source, according to EIA.

FERC opened the docket in January 2018 after it rejected the Department of Energy’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to make cost-of-service payments to generators — such as coal and nuclear plants — that have a 90-day on-site fuel supply and are able to provide “essential reliability services.” In its order rejecting the NOPR, the commission directed “the RTOs/ISOs to provide information … that will inform us as to whether additional actions by the commission and the ISOs/RTOs are warranted with regard to resilience issues.”

It received dozens of comments later in May. (See Don’t Rush on Resilience, Commenters Urge.) Its roster of commissioners has changed a few times since then, with the death of Kevin McIntyre, the departures of Cheryl LaFleur and Robert Powelson, and the arrival of Bernard McNamee.

“The lack of a concluding report or order leads many people following this proceeding to assume that no additional steps will be taken by the commission,” the Kentucky Public Service Commission wrote. “In other words, can we assume that no decision is the commission’s decision? If that is the case, communication from the commission needs to occur to provide certainty to affected stakeholders.”

As Avangrid is one of the commenters in the docket, Commissioner Richard Glick is prohibited from working on it until Nov. 29 under an ethics pledge he signed, meaning the commission lacks a quorum to act on the issue at least until then. (See Glick Recusal May Mean No MOPR Ruling Before December.)

That could change, however, if the Senate confirms FERC General Counsel James Danly, President Trump’s nominee to fill McIntyre’s seat.

It could also depend on McNamee. FERC ethics officials have cleared him to participate in the proceeding, but they cautioned in January that “we must exercise continued oversight to ensure that Docket No. AD18-7 does not develop in such a way as to replicate or closely resemble” the DOE NOPR, on which McNamee worked while he was with the department. McNamee received a waiver from the White House on Aug. 29 to work on dockets in which parties are represented by his former employer, McGuireWoods, but not on those in which he himself participated prior to joining the commission.

Each of the state commissions warned FERC that accelerating retirements of coal-fired and nuclear facilities could jeopardize electric reliability and increase prices.

Alabama, Montana and Wyoming used two identical paragraphs: “In the meantime, substantial baseload retirements, especially coal-fired units, and the evolution of the electric power sector, are bringing increased attention to grid resilience and fuel security. Nationwide, 40% (126,000 MW) of the nation’s coal fleet has retired or announced plans to retire. By the end of 2020, some 67,000 MW of coal-fired generating capacity in ISO/RTO footprints will have retired. This total includes more than 10,000 MW that have announced intentions to retire this year and in 2020. The four ISO/RTO regions with the most coal retirements through 2020 are PJM (36,200 MW), MISO (14,800 MW), ERCOT (5,800 MW) and SPP (5,000 MW).

“In addition, 20% of nuclear units (21 of 105) have retired or announced plans to retire by 2030, amounting to over 17,000 MW of capacity.”

Most of the letters were authored by the commission chairs. The Alabama letter, sent by Commissioner Jeremy Oden, appeared to leave intact some language that was intended to be modified, ending with “I/We request…”

Kara B. Fornstrom, chair of the Wyoming Public Service Commission, said the effort was organized by the American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE), a trade group that supports policies benefiting “coal-fueled electricity and the coal fleet.”

“As part of our outreach, we regularly share information with stakeholders, including utility commissioners, about coal retirements, resilience and fuel security,” ACCCE CEO Michelle Bloodworth said. “Because of the important voice that utility commissioners have, we appreciate the fact that these commissioners agree with the need for FERC action on resilience and hope that other stakeholders will also urge FERC to take action.”

None of the other commissions responded to requests for comment Monday.

In a response on Sept. 19 to the South Carolina Public Service Commission’s letter (which was also not posted in eLibrary), FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee noted that “several regions are concurrently taking action to improve reliability and resilience, such as introducing new products and services, and developing market rule changes.”

“I also note that the commission already has taken some steps that address resilience of the bulk power system such as approving procedures for utilities to share spare transformers in the event of a system emergency,” Chatterjee wrote. “Further, FERC staff has begun outreach to state utility commissions to discuss how we may exchange information on these issues. The commission continues to work with all stakeholders to ensure that well-developed market rules and reliability standards are in place.”