Energy Secretary says coal and emergency measures helped keep lights on during recent cold snap
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Summary
Energy Secretary Christopher Wright said the Department of Energy kept 17 gigawatts of coal capacity online and used other measures to avoid blackouts during a recent multi-state cold spell, and he said renewables supplied only a small share at peak demand in New England.
Energy Secretary Christopher Wright said during a national interview that emergency measures—including keeping 17 gigawatts of coal capacity available—helped prevent blackouts during a recent multi-state cold spell.
Wright told interviewers that the urgent demand surge tested the grid’s design limits and that coal and other dispatchable resources were critical "to saving American lives" during the storm. He also said wind, solar and batteries provided a very small share at peak demand in New England.
The comments came as the host raised reports that, at one peak last week from Connecticut to Maine, roughly 37% of electricity came from oil. Wright confirmed that the 37% figure applied at the peak demand moment and said in that window wind, solar and batteries supplied about 2% of generation.
"We kept 17 gigawatts of coal power plants open that was critical to saving American lives to the story we the storm we just went through," Wright said. He added that some renewable sources "went on vacation when we needed the most," a characterization he used to describe renewables’ limited contribution at the moment of highest demand.
Wright also addressed concerns about data centers, saying they can be a long-term force that drives down electricity prices and that policies to expand reliable electricity production are intended to accommodate growing demand. The interviewers noted that some data centers were asked to run on diesel generators during the cold spell to protect local power supplies.
Wright framed these operational choices as part of a broader administration strategy to expand domestic energy production and system reliability. He said keeping dispatchable resources available and increasing generation capacity are among the ways officials aimed to prevent widespread outages during extreme weather.
The interview did not announce new regulatory actions. Wright’s comments described past operational decisions during the storm and advocated the administration’s policy direction as a way to improve supply security going forward.
