Grid operators across the country have managed recent extreme winter weather with only limited challenges, but that hasn’t stopped lawmakers from using last month’s storm in the fight over which energy sources are better to keep the lights on.
For years, severe weather and power outages have been followed by Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill arguing about the merits of fossil fuels versus renewables.
Republicans have gone on the offensive since Winter Storm Fern battered roads and energy infrastructure with heavy snow, ice and freezing rain from Texas to New England.
In floor speeches, committee hearings and interviews, they argue that one thing prevented the energy grid from collapsing: reliable and affordable power from natural gas, coal and nuclear plants.
“Not surprisingly, fossil fuels and nuclear power provided the bulk of electricity during this week’s storm and the intense cold that followed,” said Senate Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) during floor remarks. “Renewable sources generated smaller amounts of electricity, and they were also sporadic.”
The argument echoes a familiar Republican refrain: Renewable resources whose generation depends on weather conditions like wind and solar are less reliable than power plants that can be dispatched at will.
But those narratives have reached a fever pitch since President Donald Trump began his second term. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, a fossil fuels and nuclear booster, has argued that so-called dispatchable energy sources are the only ones grid operators can count on during periods of peak demand.
Fern has provided a powerful backdrop for those arguments. In a rare public briefing with reporters last week, Wright said natural gas, nuclear and coal plants supplied the vast majority of electricity across regional grids during the storm’s most severe periods.
“To have an electricity grid, you must design it for peak demand,” Wright said. “When I hear politicians say, ‘We just need more electrons on the grid’ — no, we don’t. When it’s the middle of the day and the weather is mild, or when the sun shines or the wind blows, that doesn’t add anything to the capacity of our electricity grid.”
Republicans are also using the storm to target Democratic-led states, which they argue have left residents vulnerable by pursuing aggressive renewable energy mandates while restricting fossil fuel infrastructure.
Democrats are fighting back. Nearly every Democratic lawmaker interviewed by POLITICO’s E&E News for this story said renewable energy can’t meaningfully contribute to grid reliability if projects are stalled by permitting hurdles and regulatory rollbacks under the Trump administration.
“Republicans would be a lot more credible on their points if they would just let us finish construction of offshore wind that could power all of New England,” said Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).
New England, New York
The New England and New York grids emerged as flash points in the post-Fern debate.
During peak demand, oil and dual-fuel generation — often using natural gas and oil — surged across Northeast power markets, reaching 44 percent of total generation in the New York Independent System Operator and roughly 35 percent in ISO New England.
Oil, gasoline and propane are rarely used for electricity generation today because of their high cost and substantial greenhouse gas emissions.
Republicans say the reliance on such outdated fuels reflects a failure of energy policy. New England and New York have limited natural gas pipeline capacity, instead depending heavily on imported liquefied natural gas while trying to increase their renewable generation to meet climate goals.
“In New England, more than 40 percent of power generation came from fuel oil during the coldest period of this storm,” said Rep. August Pfluger (R-Texas). “These states are basically telling their own constituents, ‘We don’t care — you’re going to pay up to 300 percent more when demand peaks.’”
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) recently led a regulatory challenge to the Constitution pipeline project, which would bring natural gas supplies from northern Pennsylvania into upstate New York. State officials argue the current federal approval process bypasses critical environmental reviews.
Republicans say the fight is emblematic of what they describe as the region’s obsession with blocking fossil fuels. New York GOP lawmakers hope the issue resonates politically as Democrats seek to blame Washington Republicans for rising energy costs.
“New York loves to talk about climate leadership, but Albany’s unrealistic green energy mandates, closing clean nuclear power plants and blocking natural gas pipelines have made the grid less reliable,” said Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), who faces a competitive reelection race. “You can’t regulate reliability into existence.”
Democrats in the region argue the Trump administration itself has worsened reliability risks by blocking offshore wind development across the Northeast.
They say stalled wind projects could have generated significant power during Fern and would strengthen grid performance in future extreme weather.
“Looking at the analysis of that storm, those turbines would have been spinning at near-peak output during the early and middle stages,” said Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.). “They would have generated tremendous amounts of electricity for my constituents, lowering costs and relieving stress on the grid.”
What about Texas?
Democrats and renewable energy advocates also argue the Republican narrative doesn’t hold up in regions with a larger share of renewable energy.
An analysis by the American Clean Power Association found that consumers in markets that draw on a broad mix of energy sources, particularly those with substantial wind, solar and battery storage, experienced lower costs during the storm.
Texas, with its troubled history of winter grid failures, has become a central example. Winter Storm Uri in 2021 caused catastrophic outages, at least 246 deaths and an estimated $80 billion to $130 billion in economic damage.
This time, however, Electric Reliability Council of Texas — the state’s grid operator — weathered an even more severe storm with only minor disruptions. Renewable advocates say the improved performance reflects a more diversified energy mix — including major additions of wind, solar and battery storage.
“If those renewable resources hadn’t been on the system, ERCOT would have been right at the red line,” said John Hensley, ACP’s senior vice president of markets and policy analysis. “Given the availability of other resources, the grid would have been dangerously close to running out of power.”
That diversity, Democrats broadly argue, is precisely what makes grids more resilient.
But some Northeast Democrats aren’t particularly interested in building out pipeline capacity in the region that could potentially compose a diverse grid.
They say renewables can make up the difference for a lack of natural gas. Fossil fuel critics note that heavy reliance on imported gas helped drive price spikes during the storm.
“Our electricity plan in Massachusetts was to break our dependence on imported natural gas,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). “Trump is trying to create an addiction to natural gas in Massachusetts by canceling offshore wind.”
Warren said, “Investing in an industry that is not going to get cheaper over time doesn’t make nearly as much sense as investing in renewables that drive down the cost of energy immediately.”
But centrist Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), who caucuses with Democrats, said preventing future grid emergencies will require both expanded pipeline capacity and accelerated renewable deployment.
“The problem in New England is pipeline capacity, particularly in the winter,” King said. “We need more storage or pipeline capacity. But we also need more renewables, battery storage, demand response. We need everything.”
This story also appears in Energywire.
