Our Power Practice publishes TRANSMISSION WATCH as well as TRANSMISSION MEMO.
TRANSMISSION WATCH - Q3 2009
Here is a sample of information from August 2009 TRANSMISSION WATCH report.
Authors: José Rotger
SUMMARY: Cost allocation continues to be the issue for transmission development and investment, and is the focus of the Policy Watch section of this quarter’s edition of ESAI’s Transmission Watch.
In taking the FERC to task for its "insouciance" in approving a regional postage stamp cost allocation framework for PJM backbone transmission facilities, the Chicago-based 7th Circuit Court of Appeals has injected considerable uncertainty into the business of transmission investment. Not all of the 7th Circuit judges agreed with the finding that FERC was indifferent or casual in approving PJM’s mechanism to spread the costs of new 500 kV and above transmission facilities, setting the stage for yet another chapter in the national argument over who pays for transmission. One consequence of the Court’s decision may be a call to action for Congress to resolve the cost allocation debate once and for all with a national approach.
Also reviewed in this issue is FirstEnergy’s proposal to move its Midwest ISO utilities to PJM. Transmission cost allocation policy also rears its head in the proposed RTO switch. FirstEnergy’s proposal to exempt its utilities from bearing the costs associated with PJM-authorized backbone transmission projects raises important issues regarding the costs and benefits of switching RTOs.
Finally, our Project Update section focuses on the preliminary results of ISO-NE’s renewable-enabling transmission ‘blueprint’ for New England, as requested by the region’s state regulators. The scope and costs of this renewable blueprint are massive. It will be interesting to see whether New England state regulators will accede to ratepayers footing the bill for billions in new renewable transmission investment, on top of the billions spent and planned to be spent for reliability reasons as well as the ongoing surplus of resources in the region.
TRANSMISSION Memo - Q3 2009
Here is a sample of information from September 2009 TRANSMISSION MEMO.
Authors: José Rotger
SUMMARY: Broad Collaborative Takes Shape and Requests Federal Funding.
A hot topic under discussion in Congress is whether to further increase the Federal government’s role over transmission planning by instituting "interconnection-wide" planning processes under FERC jurisdiction. Several energy bills before Congress include provisions to establish FERC as overseer of a coordinated multi-state / multi-regional planning effort primarily to advance a national renewable- enabling transmission "interstate highway" network. ESAI’s May 2009 Transmission Watch examined growing efforts to further Federalize transmission planning, siting and cost allocation. At the center of the Federal planning debate is whether FERC’s multi-regional planning authority should require a "top-down" or "bottom-up" approach. A top-down approach refers to FERC overseeing the creation of a new transmission plan for multiple regions (or for entire interconnections); while a bottom-up approach refers to the integration of existing regional transmission plans into a single coordinated multi-regional (or interconnection-wide) plan.