Energy chief defends Trump directive on coal, nuclear plants
WASHINGTON (AP) — Energy Secretary Rick Perry on Monday defended President Donald Trump's call to bolster struggling coal-fired and nuclear power plants, saying a rash of plant retirements is "alarming" and poses a looming crisis for the nation's power grid.
Experts disagree and say Trump is attempting to solve a problem that doesn't exist.
In a speech in Austin, Texas, Perry said coal and nuclear plants "are retiring at an alarming rate that, if unchecked, will threaten our ability to recover from intentional attacks and natural disasters."
"The president is right to view grid resilience as a serious national security issue," Perry said at a conference on cybersecurity.