Improving the Grid
Brian Slocum is Vice President of Operations for ITC Holdings Corp., the nation’s largest independent electricity transmission company.
Proactive investment in the transmission grid is needed now to grow, sustain, and protect our twenty-first century economy. With a supportive regulatory environment, the private sector stands ready to make these vital investments in our nation's infrastructure.
That was the substance of testimony I had the privilege of contributing to the U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy earlier this year regarding the state of the nation's energy infrastructure.
Since the time of my testimony, there have been efforts by the administration to reform the federal permitting process for electric transmission. We applaud these efforts. Now it is imperative that policymakers maintain their focus on implementing the new procedures and further streamlining the process.
We also need to take proactive steps to reform procedures for planning the transmission system to ensure we are examining the full value that transmission investments contribute to the grid and our economy.