TheCount
04-01-2018, 06:17 PM
On Saturday, power corporation FirstEnergy placed its coal and nuclear generation units under chapter 11 bankruptcy (https://cms.arstechnica.com/wp/wp-admin/post.php?post=226681&action=edit). Although coal and nuclear plants across the country have struggled to compete with the low prices of natural gas, FirstEnergy's filing is unique because it stands to take on a political dimension. Just two days before FirstEnergy's bankruptcy filing, the company petitioned the Department of Energy (DOE) for an emergency bailout, citing concerns about reliability (https://www.utilitydive.com/news/firstenergy-asks-doe-for-emergency-action-to-save-pjm-coal-nuke-plants/520280/).
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The WSJ also notes that one of FirstEnergy's biggest coal suppliers is Murray Energy, whose CEO has donated significantly to Trump's political groups. Murray Energy reportedly made a similar request for emergency action from the DOE last year, although that request was denied.
Although Section 202(c) orders have historically been issued for short periods of time, FirstEnergy is requesting that an emergency order in its favor extend for four years, "or until the Secretary determines that the emergency has ceased to exist because the PJM markets have been fixed to properly compensate these units for the resiliency and reliability benefits that they provide, whichever is later."
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/04/coal-nuclear-plant-operator-files-for-bankruptcy-asks-trump-for-a-bailout/
TL;DR: they're asking for a permanent 'state of emergency' to protect the coal and nuclear industries from market competition. And we all know how much the government likes states of emergency...
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The WSJ also notes that one of FirstEnergy's biggest coal suppliers is Murray Energy, whose CEO has donated significantly to Trump's political groups. Murray Energy reportedly made a similar request for emergency action from the DOE last year, although that request was denied.
Although Section 202(c) orders have historically been issued for short periods of time, FirstEnergy is requesting that an emergency order in its favor extend for four years, "or until the Secretary determines that the emergency has ceased to exist because the PJM markets have been fixed to properly compensate these units for the resiliency and reliability benefits that they provide, whichever is later."
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/04/coal-nuclear-plant-operator-files-for-bankruptcy-asks-trump-for-a-bailout/
TL;DR: they're asking for a permanent 'state of emergency' to protect the coal and nuclear industries from market competition. And we all know how much the government likes states of emergency...