Texas is leading a 19-state coalition challenging a federal agency requiring states to implement a “green energy” transition. The states filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in response to a rule it passed to advance unprecedented federal control over the US electric grid. Currently, state regulatory bodies determine the most efficient mix of energy sources for their states.
FERC’s new rule appears to be an unfunded mandate, requiring states to implement “green energy” electricity generation and cover the costs to transition to it. Texas, which maintains its own electric grid, filed the complaint, leading a 19-state coalition. It argues FERC’s rule exceeds its authority, is arbitrary and capricious and creates an “unjust, unreasonable, and/or unduly discriminatory rates” that violate the Federal Power Act.
The rule is “not supported by reasoned decision-making or explanation and runs counter to the evidence,” the 48-page brief states. FERC issued the rule “attempting to do indirectly what it cannot do directly: usurp the States’ exclusive authority over generation choices by adopting planning rules designed to benefit remote renewable generation and renewable developers, and shift billions or trillions of dollars in transmission costs from those developers onto electric consumers,” the coalition argues. The coalition includes Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missis.
