Coal clique trick

Source: DOE Issues First-Ever Emergency Order to Keep Open a Unit That Is Noncompliant with MATS

The Department of Energy (DOE) issued an unprecedented emergency order on April 14 to keep open a power plant that had been slated for shutdown under the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) in a bid to secure electric reliability.

The DOE’s order was issued under the Federal Power Act Section 202(c). It inaugurates the so-called “reliability safety valve” that had been widely discussed since the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) February 2012–finalized rule was still in the draft stage.

Order No. 202-17-1, signed by Energy Secretary Rick Perry, will allow Unit 1, a coal-fired unit at the Grand River Energy Center, which is owned by Oklahoma state agency Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA), to keep running until more units are brought online to ensure grid reliability.

“Without sufficient reactive power support, electric system reliability is at risk because excessive voltage could force transmission lines offline, consequently leading to other reliability problems, or could cause electric arcing that would damage transmission facilities,” the order says.​

Also, source: Coal CEO expected Trump help, but administration said no - The Washington Post

Perry has already twice invoked the Federal Power Act in narrow ways at the request of utilities seeking to keep old coal-burning plants online past their planned retirement dates. In both cases, the utilities were allowed to continue operations at plants amid concerns that shutting them down could lead to regional shortages in electricity.​

An interesting "emergency."

Bob Wilson