FERC Chair Calls for "Balanced" Emissions Policy

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chair Joseph Kelliher warned today that any climate change policy that pushes energy prices too high could backfire on Congress.

Kelliher said Congress must strike the right balance between reducing energy demand to cut emissions, while also ensuring there is a sufficient energy supply to meet the needs of a growing economy.

“I think it is possible to come up with a policy that achieves significant carbon reductions, but at a price that is not unaffordable [and] a price that is not too high to the American public,” he told an energy law conference at American University’s Washington College of Law today.

But he cautioned against taking an “unbalanced” approach. “I think public support for climate change policy is not as deep as it might be perceived,” he said, warning that an approach that results in high energy prices and unreliable supplies will undermine public confidence in climate change policy. “[That] could force Congress to reverse course and that’s probably the worst outcome.”

Kelliher said uncertainty over the future of climate change policy had big implications for the energy sector. “The U.S. has cancelled thousands of megawatts of coal generating capacity and not replaced them with other electricity generation,” he said. “Frankly, the United States currently is not building enough electricity supply to meet our future needs.”