Fargo Standard

Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak of North Dakota has expressed concern following a new report from the Department of Energy, which warns of potential reliability risks to the nation's electric grid. The report suggests that annual outage hours could increase from current single digits to over 800 hours per year, with blackouts potentially doubling by 2030.

"The Department of Energy’s report is extremely troubling, but not surprising," said Fedorchak. She noted that it confirms long-standing concerns from grid operators about the retirement of dispatchable baseload generation plants without adequate replacements.

Fedorchak highlighted the rising electricity demand driven by AI, data centers, and manufacturing as contributing factors to potential blackouts and increased prices. "The most obvious, commonsense solution is to stop taking reliable generators offline before we have adequate replacements," she stated.

To address these issues, Fedorchak introduced the Baseload Reliability Protection Act. This legislation aims to prevent premature retirement of critical baseload generators in areas at risk of blackouts and equip relevant authorities with tools for grid preservation.

"I commend the Trump administration for its focus on grid security and look forward to continue working together to achieve American energy dominance," added Fedorchak.

Further information about the Baseload Reliability Protection Act and the full Department of Energy report are available online.