COMPETE Applauds FERC Review of Escalating Costs to Build New Generation 

In response to a briefing on rising power plant costs at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today, the COMPETE Coalition issued the following statement from William Massey, former FERC Commissioner and counsel to COMPETE:
 
"FERC is to be commended for examining the rapidly rising costs of building new electricity generation.  The Edison Foundation projects that to meet U.S. electricity demand it will require $1.5 trillion in new electricity infrastructure over the next 20 years.  This is more than three times the market capitalization of the U.S. electric industry, and does not include the cost of curbing carbon.  It is imperative that this significant investment be disciplined by markets that assign risk to investors rather than captiveratepayers.  By embracing market innovation, we can ensure these significant investments are made efficiently and at less risk to consumers.

Competitive electricity markets will help manage and guide the substantial investments required to meet our future electricitydemand while providing the market incentives to help address climate change. At a time when policy makers are promoting market innovation to curb carbon emissions, it makes no sense to turn away from the innovation well-functioning electricity markets provide today."