Initial Comments On DOE's Proposed Grid Resiliency Rule Raise Issues And Draw Battle Lines Before FERC

The "Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule" submitted in late September by the Secretary of Energy for consideration by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)^[1] has attracted the proverbial avalanche of initial comments from a broad spectrum of interests, including former FERC Commissioners, labor unions, independent power producers, traditional utilities, environmental groups, state public service commissions, energy consumer groups, investors, natural gas producers and pipeline companies, and the U.S. Congress. The comments raise numerous issues, including whether there is a "resiliency" problem in US bulk power markets and, if so, whether it is an urgent problem, the cause of any resiliency problem in US bulk power markets, whether the problem exists across the US or only in certain markets, the best way to resolve any resiliency problem, the potential effect of the Pricing Rule on competitive electricity markets, federal versus state jurisdiction over