Perry Jokes That He Would Be Happy to Tell FERC What to Do

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. Energy Secretary Rick Perry may still be smarting a bit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's rejection of his “grid resilience” proposal that would have given a boost to nuclear and coal power plants.

Asked at CERAWeek by IHS Markit whether he thinks the distinction for liquefied natural gas exports between Free Trade Agreement countries and those who aren't needs to be revisited, Perry said “I do. Just because that's the way they've been done for 20 years, or even longer in some cases -- I don't consider anything to be sacrosanct.”

When a reporter pointed out that removing the distinction might reduce the role for the Energy Department in approving LNG terminals, Perry responded: “I'm not wed to having to be in every decision. There's some decisions I wish they'd put me into.”

Which ones?

“I'm more than happy to tell FERC how to do their business -- just kidding.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Tina Davis in Houston at tinadavis@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tina Davis at tinadavis@bloomberg.net, Carlos Caminada, Joe Carroll

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