NARUC supports infrastructure bill, but raises concerns
The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) commended the Senate for passing the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill but added that it falls short in some areas for its members, state utility regulators.
“We understand and certainly appreciate the importance of protecting and improving infrastructure,” NARUC President Paul Kjellander said. “In fact, infrastructure was a yearlong focus recently, and we have a committee dedicated to critical infrastructure. However, this bill could have achieved more in terms of energy and utility provisions. In short, we support the bill’s revised tax treatment for contributions in aid of construction, and we are pleased by the inclusion of the pilot low-income water program. Unfortunately, the bill includes a transmission siting provision that NARUC strongly opposes, and there are key aspects of the broadband benefit program that we do not support.”
Specifically, related to transmission siting, the bill contains a provision that pre-empts state siting jurisdiction and eminent domain powers related to siting electric transmission projects. The legislation provides the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission with siting jurisdiction and federal eminent domain powers in “national interest electric transmission corridors” when states fail to approve a project within one year. NARUC views this provision as an ultimatum to states to approve the project or FERC will approve it for them. The public interest would be better served by Congress determining whether state regulatory action or inaction is actually preventing electric transmission lines from being sited and constructed.
NARUC opposes this unnecessary pre-emption of state jurisdiction. NARUC has worked with its federal counterparts at FERC to establish a federal-state task force on electric transmission to collaboratively resolve the issues collectively identified as the greater impediments to building transmission projects.
“This effort is a model of cooperative federalism, which is really what Congress should be striving for, instead of undermining state authority,” NARUC Executive Director Greg White said. “One undeniable thing that state regulatory commissions do is assure that the affected citizens receive due process. This legislation would remove the affected communities’ and landowners’ right to due process. Everyone should be deeply troubled by that prospect.”
NARUC officials also said the new broadband benefit ignores critical protections for consumers and for the program itself by extending the partial bypass of the Eligible Telecommunication Carrier designation process. This bypasses many states that are both interested in and able to protect program beneficiaries.
“Unfortunately, the industry voices that aimed to avoid oversight carried more weight than NARUC’s concern for sound, reasonable protections for the public,” NARUC officials said.
