Members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Tuesday vowed to uphold their mission of making fuel-neutral decisions as independent arbiters in a hyper-politicized energy environment, after being pressured by Energy Secretary Rick Perry to subsidize coal and nuclear plants.

In a highly anticipated decision, FERC last week voted unanimously to reject a proposal from Perry to provide special payments to struggling coal and nuclear plants. And in their first public comments since then, FERC members defended that move.