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A top official with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has said that the federal government is attempting to create a list of power plants that are considered too valuable to lose in the event of any natural or man-made crisis that could threaten the nation's security or the health of its citizens.

The initiative is another attempt by the Trump administration to find a rationalization that would allow a market intervention that could save both coal and nuclear power plants that are closing for economic reasons.

The administration's first argument focused on the “resiliency” of coal and nuclear power plants based on the idea that they each had fuel stored on site so they could continue operating long after a fuel supply was cut off.

When that argument didn't fly, the rationale switched to pivot on use of the Federal Powers Act that allows the government to force grid operators to purchase power from specific sources. While the law was designed for use only during an emergency, the Department of Energy has said they would use the law temporarily while the government studied the energy market

The reaction to that strategy was equally discouraging with several lawmakers and anti-nuclear and coal groups quickly pointing out the Federal Powers Act was limited to national emergencies, such as a war or an oil embargo.

Now coming at that from another angle, FERC chief of staff Anthony Pugliese said that the government was working to identify energy related to military bases, hospitals and other critically necessary infrastructure with an eye towards protecting the power plants needed to keep those services or operations from power shortages.

“We are working with the DOD (Department of Defense) and DOE (Department of Energy and NSC (National Security Council) to identify (power) plants that we think would be absolutely critical to ensuring that not only our military bases but things like hospitals and other critical infrastructure are able to be maintained, regardless of what natural or man-made disasters might occur,” Power Magazine quoted Pugliese as saying.

Although FERC has said it does not favor market distortions, the advantages of consistency and resilience from a carbon-free source such as nuclear power is hard to ignore, said Pugliese. “It is incredibly important to the national security of the United States that we ensure that some of these critical assets like these nuclear plants do not go the way of the dodo bird,” he said.

Pugliese made his remarks at a recent talk before member of the American Nuclear Society.