A recent study from the DOE on America's electricity grid found a balanced and diverse set of resources is vital to the U.S. economy and national security.
Now, a new study by IHS Markit co-sponsored by the U.S. Chamber's Global Energy Institute puts a price tag on just how important the U.S.'s current balance of coal, natural gas, nuclear and renewable energy really is. The report, "Ensuring Resilient and Efficient Electricity Generation," found the current diverse and balanced portfolio of electricity resources is saving the nation $114 billion per year in electricity costs. As a result, the cost of electricity is 27-percent lower than it would be without such a well-balanced mix.
"Nuclear energy and coal are the most threatened parts of our current electricity mix, but they are both extremely important to maintain reliability and to keep costs in check," said Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the Global Energy Institute. "Subsidies, mandates and market conditions have combined to place our current diverse portfolio at serious risk. Policymakers must be focused on maintaining balance and reject approaches that limit our options."
The new study modeled what the price of electricity would have been from 2014- 2016 if America's most reliable and resilient electricity resources, like nuclear and coal, were mostly removed from the mix. Without meaningful contributions from nuclear and coal generation, the study found the price of electricity would rise and, within three years, could lead to the loss of 1 million jobs, $158 billion to the U.S. economy and as much as $845 in disposable income for every American household per year.
The IHS Markit study comes after the DOE's Staff Report to the Secretary on Electricity Markets and Reliability found power markets must do a better job of supporting the resilience of the grid to protect against supply disruptions.
For more information, visit www. energy.gov or www.globalenergy institute.org.
