The chair of Wisconsin’s Public Service Commission is suggesting GOP U.S. Rep Tom Tiffany’s call for the agency to “resist pressure to close any coal-fired plants prematurely” is misplaced and he should be directing his comments to utilities.
Chair Summer Strand wrote that’s because the PSC doesn’t have the power to approve power plant retirement decisions, which she wrote are made by the operating utility after consultation with the Midcontinent Independent System Operator.
“The Commission does not dictate the type of generation resource power providers seek approval of, and the standards for approval do not vary by project type, they are the same regardless of generation source,” she wrote in yesterday’s letter.
Tiffany, R-Minocqua, wrote a letter to Strand in June that “coal-fired plants are a backbone of baseload power and cannot simply be replaced with intermittent generation provided by wind and solar.”
>> WisPolitics is now on the State Affairs network. Get custom keyword notifications, bill tracking and all WisPolitics content. Get the app or access via desktop.
In the letter, the potential GOP guv candidate raised concerns that special interests that he referred to as “anti-human groups” have mobilized against coal-fired power plants as well as natural gas. Relying on a grid powered by “unreliable wind and solar energy” would be a mistake, he added, and the state needs “dependable, reliable, low-cost electricity – not market distorting subsidies and Madison mandates that prioritize the politically connected over prosperity.”
Tiffany also warned against putting “all of our baseload eggs in one basket by relying too heavily on a single form” of generation.
Strand replied the state’s current mix is about: 35% natural gas, 30% coal, 15% wind/solar, 15% nuclear, 3% hydropower and 2% other.
“Ultimately, the makeup of Wisconsin’s generation mix is and will continue to be driven by utility and energy provider planning decisions, and not Commission mandates or regulatory overreach,” she wrote.
