At House hearing, witnesses dispute whether renewables or dispatchable fuels were decisive in Winter Storm Fern

Members of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee pressed witnesses over conflicting interpretations of how different resources performed during Winter Storm Fern and which policy levers should follow.

Michael Goggin of Grid Strategies said wind and solar "performed well" in many regions and often exceeded expected accredited capacity, noting that renewables and batteries can act as a hedge against volatile fuel prices because they have no fuel cost. He highlighted instances where wind and solar delivered well above their capacity expectations and argued expanded transmission would allow that surplus to reduce costs elsewhere.

Utility and industry witnesses pushed back. Brett Madison, president and chief operating officer of SWEPCO, described how on-site fuel for coal and flexible natural gas units were essential to maintaining service in his territory, reporting more than 200,000 SWEPCO customers were impacted and restored during Fern and that SWEPCO spent roughly $7.5 million winterizing units after Winter Storm Uri. Jose Costa of the Northeast Gas Association said Appalachian production and pipeline operators "performed exceptionally well" but that pipeline capacity in the Northeast hit maximum flow and the region relied on LNG imports and trucked/barged deliveries during the worst periods.

The exchange highlighted three practical takeaways: first, region matters — solar performed strongly in the West while gas and oil were decisive in portions of the East and New England; second, winterization and mandatory standards (some adopted after earlier storms) have reduced certain failure modes but cannot eliminate fuel-delivery constraints; and third, transmission congestion prevented lower-cost generation from reaching some high-demand areas, producing measurable economic losses (witnesses cited figures such as ~$90 million in Eastern PJM and tens of millions in other regions related to curtailed wind deliveries).

Members pressed for policy responses ranging from permitting reform and federal efforts to accelerate interstate transmission to retention or temporary extension of certain dispatchable assets until replacements and transmission are online. The witnesses agreed that a diverse portfolio plus better planning, faster interconnection and coordinated gas-electric operations would reduce both reliability risk and exposure to fuel-price spikes.

The hearing concluded with the committee requesting documents for the record and indicating intent to follow up on permitting and transmission reforms; no final policy decisions were made on the floor of the committee at the hearing.