New Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee said Thursday that the nation’s electricity grid watchdog will evaluate whether to help preserve the nation’s coal and nuclear plants during the transition to renewable energy sources.

Chatterjee, testifying before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, took a more cautious stance on the matter than he did upon becoming chairman one month ago, when he said on the agency’s podcast that coal and nuclear plants need to be properly compensated to recognize the value they provide to the power system.