A House subcommittee will look to advance Congress’ long-running debate over baseload energy, renewables and grid reliability during a hearing Tuesday.
Lawmakers on the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy will look back at Winter Storm Fern, which blanketed much of the eastern United States with snow and sleet in January, as a case study on the upsides of fossil fuels and the potential shortcomings of clean power during times of extreme stress on the electric grid.
The hearing, titled “Winter Storm Fern Lessons: Supplying Reliable Power to Meet Peak Demand,” will be led by Energy and Commerce Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) and Energy Subcommittee Chair Bob Latta (R-Ohio).
It comes as Congress and the Trump administration wrestle with rapidly growing energy demand and an aging electric grid that occasionally struggles to keep up — especially as climate change boosts the frequency and intensity of extreme weather.
