Transmission Preemption

Deck: 

Federal policy trumps state siting authority.

Fortnightly Magazine - November 2010
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Tradition holds that the siting of electricity transmission infrastructure lies within the bailiwick of state authorities. But growing concerns about the integrity of the interconnected system recently have led to greater regional and federal involvement in determining the need for new lines and getting them built.

Consider the following hypothetical. After a lengthy and heated regional planning process conducted pursuant to the regional transmission organization’s (RTO’s) open-access transmission tariff, a utility receives approval to include a new transmission line in the regional system plan to meet reliability needs, thus qualifying the project for regional cost recovery. In the subsequent state approval proceeding on where the line will be located, however, the state commission staff or intervenors challenge the need for the line, and seek to use different need assumptions (e.g., lower load forecasts, transfer capability, weaker risk scenarios) to support approval of a smaller project.

To what extent may a state commission, in considering an application for approval of a new transmission line or transmission upgrade, revisit the analysis performed in a FERC-approved regional transmission planning process that has determined the line or upgrade is necessary for regional reliability?

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