As expected, with the inauguration of President Trump all Obama Administration content on the White House website has been replaced with content of the new Administration. The new content includes “An America First Energy Plan”, the entire focus of which is national security and job creation benefits of the Administration’s “embrace” and promotion of greater domestic fossil energy production.

The new plan makes no specific mention of electricity generation, transmission or distribution, grid modernization, energy efficiency, renewables, or energy storage. The plan only indirectly addresses the electricity sector with references to “eliminating harmful and unnecessary policies such as the Climate Action Plan” and the Administration’s commitment to “clean coal technology, and to reviving America’s coal industry.”

As noted in our previous post, the new Administration must flesh out its heretofore abbreviated and incomplete policy hints for the electric power sector. Secretary of Energy nominee, Governor Rick Perry, acknowledged during his nomination hearing the importance of grid modernization, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and security and resiliency of the electricity system. He also committed to make decisions based on science, including in relation to climate change. It remains to be seen whether Gov. Perry’s remarks reflect a departure from the America First Energy Plan or an approved effort to begin to flesh out the Administration’s policies for the power sector. But as of now, the White House pronouncements on the power sector remain obscure.