Fix the Grid and its Governance

April - There have been positive developments in America’s efforts to meet national climate goals. Technological innovations have radically reduced the cost of producing renewable energy and we are turning from fossil fuels to renewables. The Inflation Reduction Act will funnel over $400 billion into subsidies to Americans to buy electric cars and electric heat pumps. However, a major bottleneck is slowing down the flow of fossil-free electricity into our outdated grid that has insufficient capacity. This bottleneck is throttling efforts to change the way we generate and distribute electricity and slowing our transition to renewables.

There is now a huge backlog of renewable energy projects seeking permits from grid operators to feed their energy into the grid, while fossil fuel applicants often enjoy faster turnarounds. For example, PJM, a Mid-Atlantic grid operator, now has 2,700 energy projects under study and has paused all new reviews. It can take as long as four years to get approvals for renewable energy projects, a debilitating wait for impatient investors and stakeholders. The key problem is physical and regulatory fragmentation. When it comes to governance, the US does not have a national grid, but a grid divided among Eastern, Western, and Texas Districts, with regulatory input from states and even some municipalities. To move forward significantly and rapidly with renewable energy across the country, we need a fully integrated national grid with national oversight.

ACTION:

Urge your senators to help fix the national electric grid and to pass legislation that will reorganize our grids’ connectivity, governance, and regulatory structure, and to provide the funds so the new grid structure will more quickly allow fossil-free electricity to supply our growing call for renewables.

CONTACT: Your Senators

• Web: Find their names and links to their websites at senate.gov, send an email or leave a message via ‘Contact’ on his/her website
• Tel: 202 224-3121 (Capitol switchboard-ask for his/her office & leave a message)
• Mail: Senator (first & last name) S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510

Please send this email on to family and friends and/or write a letter-to-the-editor on this important issue. It is a good way to educate others and build support for needed policies.