Report examines need to expand the nation’s transmission capacity

A recently released report from Americans for a Clean Energy Grid (ACEG) has recommended that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) undertake rulemaking to expand the nation’s transmission capacity.

The report, “Planning for the Future: FERC’s Opportunity to Spur More Cost-Effective Transmission Infrastructure,” says grid capacity must expand two- or three-fold in coming years to efficiently integrate the evolving resource mix. Further, it explains FERC’s legal authority and responsibility to do so. Toward that end, the report proposes a comprehensive rulemaking to reform planning, cost allocation, oversight, and governance of transmission.

“Among the most important federal actions of any sort that could be taken to decarbonize the power system and promote rural economic development is FERC transmission planning reform. FERC can ensure that regional transmission planning factors in known changes in generation that are taking place around the country. FERC has ample authority to do that,” Rob Gramlich, executive director of ACEG and report lead author, said. “FERC took incremental steps to advance regional transmission planning with major orders in 1996, 1999, 2007, and 2011. But a large gap remains between where we are and where we need to be. Ten years after the last major initiative, it is time to finish the job.”

This week, a bipartisan group of nine former FERC Chairs, along with transmission and renewable industry leaders, discussed the report.

“Fighting climate change will require both substantial decarbonization of the electric sector and greater use of electricity for transportation and other sectors. Both these goals demand substantial buildout of the nation’s high-voltage transmission grid, especially to connect location-constrained renewable generation to population centers,” said Cheryl LaFleur, former FERC Commissioner from 2010-2019 and chair from 2014-2017. “It is very hard to plan, site, and build transmission. Even people who strongly support fighting climate change don’t always translate that support to a willingness to have lines built near them. We must communicate the tie between reducing climate damage and building transmission and the urgency of the need.”

Nina Plaushin, president of ACEG and vice president of regulatory and federal affairs at ITC Holdings, said public and private sectors are aligned on the need to accelerate the electric system’s transition to cleaner sources of power.

“To support this transformation, we need to build electric grid infrastructure that can reliably integrate clean energy in a way that makes sense for customers and the economy. This will require smart public policy and collaboration among diverse stakeholders – and new approaches to how we plan, pay for, and build the high-voltage electric grid,” Plaushin said. “This report from Americans for a Clean Energy Grid represents a true milestone on the path toward a cleaner energy future. It offers a broad menu of policy options designed to promote proactive and collaborative grid planning. It also recognizes that certain aspects of FERC Order 1000 may be inhibiting necessary regional planning and collaboration, and therefore should be revisited as part of any future reform.

She hopes the report’s recommendations will facilitate a conversation among policymakers and stakeholders.