Central ND News

U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer and Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak, both from North Dakota, have issued a call for reform of federal energy tax credits to enhance energy reliability, affordability, and security in America. They have contacted House and Senate Republican leaders and Committee Chairs through a letter, urging a reevaluation of policies that they argue distort markets and negatively impact the electric grid.

Cramer and Fedorchak highlight concerns about the current energy tax policy, which they claim subsidizes intermittent power sources such as wind and solar, contributing to grid instability. "Regrettably, it continues to shower intermittent energy generators with incentives and resources without regard to its contribution to a rapidly degrading electrical grid," they stated in their letter.

The legislators reference a North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) report noting that 11 of 18 Regional Transmission Organizations face a heightened risk of resource adequacy shortfalls. Specifically, the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), serving 45 million people, is at high risk of falling short of electricity demand under normal conditions.

Cramer and Fedorchak propose that Congress should critically assess the impact of energy tax credits passed under the Inflation Reduction Act. They raise several points for evaluation regarding these credits' impact on the grid's strength, the reliability of power delivery, operational difficulty, consumer pricing, and the necessity of additional transmission lines.

They advocate for the phase-out of certain tax credits like 45Y and 48E, which they argue exclusively favor zero-emission sources while neglecting attributes such as reliability and affordability. Instead, they endorse incentives like 45Q for carbon capture and 45U for existing nuclear power, which they believe can reduce emissions and sustain dependable electricity.

“Generators should be paid for their performance; not how good they make policymakers feel,” they asserted, expressing readiness to collaborate with Republican elected officials to advance the American energy dominance agenda.

For further details, the full letter is available to read online.