Keeping baseload energy sources in the Commonwealth will save customers millions

David Taylor mischaracterizes the Department of Energy’s (DOE) proposal for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to fairly value baseload energy (“Market-based energy production is America’s best shot at sustained economic growth,” 11/24/17). First, energy markets are not “free” markets. They are highly regulated with numerous measures in place that favor some forms of energy over others. The current market disadvantages baseload nuclear energy and the DOE proposal proposes to correct for that.

Second, we must be clear about the objective of DOE’s proposal. It aims to incentivize “resilient” power sources that keep stockpiles of fuel on site. This is critical to ensure a reliable energy supply in the face of threats like severe weather or terrorism, which can disrupt generation sources that don’t have fuel on hand. In fact, baseload nuclear energy was the only thing that kept the power on in Pennsylvania during the 2014 Polar Vortex.
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