Congressman Brett Guthrie, Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, and Congressman Bob Latta, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, announced on March 11 a hearing titled ‘Winter Storm Fern Lessons: Supplying Reliable Power to Meet Peak Demand.’
The hearing aims to examine lessons learned from Winter Storm Fern and discuss how to ensure a reliable supply of power during periods of peak demand. According to Guthrie and Latta, “As Winter Storm Fern swept across the country and energy needs were at their highest, it was baseload, dispatchable power sources like coal, nuclear power, and natural gas that kept the lights on for millions of American families. As we look to expand our grid to meet the moment for the AI race and reshoring manufacturing, this hearing will provide an opportunity to examine lessons learned from the storm that will support the reliable supply of power to the grid, especially during peak demand.”
The Subcommittee on Energy hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, March 17 at 10:00 AM ET in Room 2123 of the Rayburn House Office Building. The event will be open to both the public and press and will also be live streamed online at energycommerce.house.gov.
James B. Robb, President and Chief Executive Officer of North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), is expected to testify before the subcommittee. In his prepared summary statement for the hearing, Robb said that reliability risk in North America continues to rise. He said that “the continent is at risk of more frequent and more serious long duration reliability disruptions, including the possibility of national consequence events.” Robb said that a supply and demand problem remains central for bulk power system reliability as electricity demand grows faster than supply.
Robb also described NERC’s role as a not-for-profit international regulatory authority dedicated to reducing risks to bulk power system reliability and security by working with owners, operators, consumers as well as federal, state, and provincial regulators across North America. NERC develops mandatory Reliability Standards, monitors the grid, trains personnel, assesses risks, enforces compliance through six regional entities under oversight by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which designated NERC as Electric Reliability Organization for the United States.
More information about this hearing can be found at the House Committee on Energy & Commerce website.
