RSC HEAT Calls for More Baseload Energy Generation

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Last Week, Republican Study Committee (RSC) Chairman August Pfluger (TX-11) and RSC House Energy Action Team (HEAT) Task Force Chairman Troy Balderson (OH-12) led 24 of their colleagues in urging Secretary Chris Wright to exercise the authorities and programs of the Department of Energy to rapidly expand baseload energy generation to reliably and affordably meet electricity demand growth.

In a letter first reported by Washington Reporter, the lawmakers reiterate that weather-dependent, intermittent generation resources cannot close the energy resource adequacy gap that is rapidly growing due to four years of ‘America Last’ Biden-Harris-era energy policies, skyrocketing demand, and planned baseload generation retirements. Lawmakers note that failure to close the gap will lead to grid vulnerabilities, power shortages, and an increased cost of living for all Americans.

Read the full piece in the Washington Reporter here.

The letter was signed by RSC Chairman August Pfluger (TX-11), RSC HEAT Chairman Troy Balderson (OH-12), RSC HEAT Vice Chairman Randy Weber (TX-14), RSC Member Scott Franklin (FL-18), and RSC HEAT Members Roger Williams (TX-25), Bob Latta (OH-05), Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Gary Palmer (AL-06), Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), Pete Sessions (TX-17), Rick Allen (GA-12), Laurel Lee (FL-15), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Craig Goldman (TX-12), Andy Barr (KY-06), Rich McCormick (GA-07), Andrew Clyde (GA-09), Harriet Hageman (WY-At Large), Jeff Crank (CO-05), Stephanie Bice (OK-05), John Rose (TN-06), Nick Begich (AK-At Large), Jeff Hurd (CO-03), Pat Harrigan (NC-10), Vince Fong (CA-20), Josh Brecheen (OK-02)

Text of the full letter is below:

Dear Secretary Wright,

We write to thank you and President Trump for your thoughtful leadership on energy dominance and for your commitment to strengthening America’s grid to meet the emerging power demands of data centers and artificial intelligence (AI). In particular, we appreciate Executive Order 14154, Unleashing American Energy, and the Secretarial Order, Unleashing the Golden Era of American Energy Dominance, which terminated harmful Biden-era policies, advanced meaningful improvements in the efficiency and certainty of permitting approvals, and supported critical baseload energy projects.

Our districts and states are seeing electricity demand grow at historic rates, presenting significant challenges to the reliability and resiliency of the U.S. electric grid. This is confirmed by the Department of Energy’s 2025 Resource Adequacy Report, which found that the majority of regions in the United States will be unable to meet increasing energy demands due to insufficient generation or transmission by 2030 – an unacceptable and extremely concerning outcome. Failing to promptly address the resilience and reliability of the power grid will lead to energy insecurity, power shortages, and increase the cost of living for all Americans. It is crucial for the United States to harness our abundant natural resources and increase our baseload energy capacity to unlock this once-in-a-generation opportunity.

As you consider funding allocations and other authorities to ensure the electric grid has the energy resources the nation needs to accommodate and enable this growth, we urge you to prioritize baseload energy generation sources. Coal- and natural gas-fired power plants jointly accounted for 91 percent of planned retirements of power generation capacity in 2024. As grid operators and experts have warned, our nation cannot solely rely on weather-dependent, intermittent resources. We must increase the amount of new, reliable, baseload resources connected to the grid to adequately meet rising demand and offset planned retirements.

Without sufficient energy to power our data centers and keep up with the rapid pace of technological innovation and development, our strategic adversaries, including China, may ultimately win the AI arms race.  Failure is not an option, as our nation’s economic and national security are at stake.

For these reasons, we respectfully urge the Department of Energy to exercise its authorities and programs to rapidly expand energy generation to reliably and affordably meet electricity demand growth across the country. Such action would align with the Trump Administration’s broader objectives of strengthening domestic supply chains and supporting American energy workers. We are committed to working with you, the Department of Energy, and President Trump to get out of the energy crisis caused by the Biden-Harris Administration’s deeply misguided policies and hostility towards domestic energy production. The golden age of technological innovation depends on a resilient grid and a reliable energy supply.

We appreciate your attention to this matter, and stand ready to assist you and your Department in ensuring the security and resilience of our grid as it meets the projected growth in electricity demand.

Respectfully,

August Pfluger (TX-11), Troy Balderson (OH-12), Randy Weber (TX-14), Roger Williams (TX-25), Bob Latta (OH-05), Morgan Griffith (VA-09), Gary Palmer (AL-06), Dan Crenshaw (TX-02), Pete Sessions (TX-17), Rick Allen (GA-12), Laurel Lee (FL-15), Dan Newhouse (WA-04), Craig Goldman (TX-12), Andy Barr (KY-06), Rich McCormick (GA-07), Andrew Clyde (GA-09), Harriet Hageman (WY-At Large), Scott Franklin (FL-18), Jeff Crank (CO-05), Stephanie Bice (OK-05), John Rose (TN-06), Nick Begich (AK-At Large), Jeff Hurd (CO-03), Pat Harrigan (NC-10), Vince Fong (CA-20), Josh Brecheen (OK-02).