March 16, 2026
The Honorable Bob Latta
Chairman, Subcommittee on Energy
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable Kathy Castor
Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Energy
Washington, DC 20515
On behalf of National Taxpayers Union (NTU), the nation’s oldest taxpayer advocacy organization, I write to share our views in advance of the Subcommittee’s hearing titled “Winter Storm Fern Lessons: Supplying Reliable Power to Meet Peak Demand.” NTU appreciates the opportunity to provide our perspective on the current state of the electric grid and the additional steps needed to strengthen its reliability. As policymakers examine lessons from recent extreme weather events and rising electricity demand, we encourage the Subcommittee to prioritize policies that enhance grid resilience, reliability, and affordability. We believe the best path forward is to focus on permitting reforms to meaningfully achieve such an outcome for taxpayers and consumers alike.
As you know, baseload power is essential to a reliable and affordable electric grid because it provides the constant, around-the-clock electricity supply needed to meet minimum demand regardless of weather, time of day, or seasonal fluctuations. Unlike intermittent sources that depend on prime conditions, baseload generation—traditionally supplied by nuclear, coal, hydropower, and gas-fired plants—ensures there is no disruption to our modern society. This allows for hospitals, factories, homes, and small businesses to have uninterrupted access to electricity despite heavy demand periods and extreme weather.
This reality was evident during Winter Storm Fern, when fossil fuels supplied roughly 80% of U.S. electricity generation. Despite operating under significant strain, the grid remained resilient even as severe winds and ice damaged transmission infrastructure and disrupted local systems. As the Energy Information Administration has noted, “Grid operators can call upon the coal fleet to increase electricity generation in extreme weather events and other times when demand surges or output falls from other generation sources.”
In other words, less reliable renewable energy sources failed. But, thanks to coal, natural gas, and oil-fired power plants, the disruptions were far fewer than had these sources been completely unplugged as many Green New Deal activists demand. Renewable energy has an appropriate role to play where geographic and economic conditions support it, including solar development in the Desert Southwest and wind generation across the Great Plains. However, relying too heavily on any single source of energy risks compromising reliability and system stability.
Ironically, in New England, which has instituted some of the most aggressive anti-fossil fuel policies, more power was generated from burning wood than solar and wind combined for stretches during the storm. Without baseload power, particularly oil, heat and power would have been almost entirely cut off for long periods of time.
Looking ahead, grid reliability challenges are expected to intensify. Forecasts indicate U.S. electricity demand is experiencing its fastest growth since the early 2000s, with total demand projected to increase by approximately 25% by 2030 and as much as 78% by 2050. Growth driven by artificial intelligence, data centers, advanced manufacturing, and electrification will require dependable, scalable energy supplies that intermittent resources alone cannot consistently provide.
One clear lesson from Winter Storm Fern is that meeting future demand will require expanded baseload capacity supported by substantial private investment and a modernized permitting framework. Reforming federal and state permitting processes is essential to ensure that transmission lines, pipelines, and power generation facilities can be planned and constructed on timelines that match accelerating energy needs. This approach offers a more durable and cost-effective solution than reliance on subsidies directed toward selected technologies, as was the case in the Inflation Reduction Act.
Importantly, permitting reform does not mean weakening environmental protections. Rather, it means making the process more efficient, predictable, and transparent while maintaining rigorous environmental standards. The current system forces developers, regulators, and communities to navigate overlapping reviews, prolonged litigation risk, and uncertain timelines. The result is fewer completed projects, higher consumer costs, and numerous missed opportunities to strengthen American energy security and economic competitiveness.
Today, completing an environmental impact statement (EIS) for major infrastructure projects takes, on average, more than two years—and often considerably longer. The Dakota Access Pipeline illustrates these challenges: despite operating for nearly a decade, its final EIS was not issued until December 2025 following extensive legal challenges and ongoing uncertainty that threatened to remove up to 750,000 barrels per day of transportation capacity from the market.
Comprehensive reform would establish clear deadlines for environmental reviews, clamp down on National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) “lawfare,” improve coordination among federal agencies, limit duplicative analyses, and more. These changes would provide certainty for project sponsors while preserving meaningful public input. Most importantly, they would help deliver the infrastructure Americans need—whether that is new energy generation, upgraded transmission lines, modern ports, or critical mineral production.
Permitting reforms embodied in the House-passed SPEED Act represent one of the most significant recent efforts to modernize infrastructure approvals and provide a useful framework for congressional action. Advancing similar reforms would help America’s energy sector meet growing electricity demand while strengthening resilience against extreme weather events that can arise with little warning.
NTU urges you to work across party lines to advance comprehensive permitting reform this Congress and stands ready to be an active partner with you to achieve such an outcome.
Sincerely,
Thomas Aiello
Vice President of Federal Affairs