States Secretary of Energy Rick Perry warned that "premature
retirements of fuel-secure baseload generating stations reduces
resilience to fuel supply disruptions"; and
WHEREAS, The recent United States Department of Energy Staff
Report to the Secretary on Electricity Markets and Reliability
made clear that resiliency must be addressed by the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and there is an "urgent need
for clear definitions of reliability- and resilience-enhancing
attributes and should quickly establish the market means to
value or the regulatory means to provide them"; and
WHEREAS, The 2014 polar vortex exposed problems with the
resiliency of the electric grid when PJM Interconnection
struggled to meet demand for electricity because a significant
amount of generation was not available to run due to weather-
related outages; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's fuel-secure baseload generation
plants employ thousands of workers in high-paying jobs and
contribute significantly to State and local economies; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's coal industry, including coal power
plants, is a vital contributor to the State's economy, providing
support through direct, indirect and induced impacts, including
approximately 36,100 full and part-time jobs, and $4.1 billion
in total value added to the Commonwealth's economy; and
WHEREAS, Pennsylvania's nuclear industry, including nuclear
power plants, is a vital contributor to the State's economy,
providing support through direct, indirect and induced impacts,
including approximately 15,900 in-State full time jobs and $2
billion to the Commonwealth's gross domestic product, and $69
million in net State tax revenues annually; and
WHEREAS, In addition to the reliability, security, grid
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