Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

A Sunny Outlook On Transmission

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Doom and gloom are the default settings for the electricity sector, especially when it comes to challenging transmission projects, but Jay Caspary is having none of it.

“We’re just starting to see the benefits of a robust grid,” Caspary says. As Director of Transmission Development at the Southwest Power Pool, Caspary is tasked with working on strategic and emerging transmission issues at the regional transmission organization, much of which includes working with a host of partners and neighbors. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 12, 2011 at 11:35 AM

Smart Grid Sparks Pricing Debate In Illinois

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An increasingly energetic debate is emerging over who should pay for smart grid technology in Illinois.

If approved, the Energy Infrastructure Modernization bill will authorize a multi-billion dollar investment in the modernization of the state’s electric grid. But disagreement over who should foot the bill and whether customers will actually see financial benefits could lead to a veto by Governor Pat Quinn. The bill was proposed into the Senate at the end of May and has not come up for a vote yet. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 9, 2011 at 2:35 PM

An Attempt at Clarity in the Who-Should-Pay-for-Transmission Debate

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Last week I wrote about the planning reforms contained in Order 1000, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s landmark rule on transmission planning and cost allocation. Today’s blog looks at Order 1000’s cost allocation implications – basically, how to figure out who pays for new transmission development.

Clements’ previous blog, as well as this one, both appeared originally on the NRDC staff blog, Switchboard. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 5, 2011 at 6:00 AM

EPA Responds To Power Sector On MACT Rule

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In an escalating war of words, the Environmental Protection Agency responded to the American Public Power Association and its August 3 filing of claims against the proposed Electric Generating Unit Maximum Achievable Control Technology (EGU MACT) rule.

Read the full story on the APPA filing: MACT Ruling Faces Utility Opposition. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 4, 2011 at 9:50 AM

ITC Details Sunny Outlook As Profits Rise

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It is a good time to be in transmission.

Favorable regulatory decisions are compounding the impacts of higher returns from rising electricity rates in some parts of the country to boost revenues and profit at ITC Holdings, a major US electricity transmission firm. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 2, 2011 at 11:40 AM

Utility Nightmares Of Electric Cars

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The first thing commuters in the environmentally aware neighborhood of the future do when they get home is plug in their electric cars, and that’s the problem.

“That’s a looming utility nightmare,” says Jim Pauley, Schneider Electric’s new senior vice president for External Affairs and Government Relations. “Utility infrastructure was built for something completely different,” he said, and neighborhood concentrations pulling new EV loads at 6 p.m. on still-hot afternoons could be disastrous for local distribution grids. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 25, 2011 at 4:00 PM

Paying For The New Grid

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A federal commission set out rules on paying for the nation’s sorely needed electricity transmission upgrades at a widely anticipated meeting yesterday.

The US transmission industry welcomed the new federal rule requiring grid expansion be paid for only by those who benefit from it, and guaranteeing that costs align with benefits as the country seeks to upgrade and expand its power-transmission infrastructure.

For more on the controversy over paying for the transmission system, see: Energy Stakeholders Ask Senate To Oppose Transmission Bill. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 22, 2011 at 6:00 AM

The Next Step Needs To Be Action

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Over the past eighteen months, the global energy industry has experienced two near disasters that have been matched neither in scale nor frequency during recent history. That’s the bad news. The good news is we have a tremendous opportunity to learn something from these events if we play our cards right, and this knowledge will serve as the catalyst our nation needs to develop the policies and regulation necessary to encourage the adoption of intelligent energy strategies to carry us into a secure energy future.

We all know the story. In April 2010 the US was struck with the tragedy caused by the Deepwater Horizon incident. And in March 2011, the world watched in horror as the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan threatened a meltdown. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 19, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Grid Renewal Could Boost Economy

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Renewal and expansion of North America’s electric transmission grid has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of jobs and spur development of wind and solar energy sources if sufficient private investment is made in coming decades, industry experts said.

A study for the Working Group for Investment in Reliable and Economic Electric Systems (WIRES) has estimated US investment in the grid could be made at some $12 to $16 billion a year until 2030 if planning, permitting and cost-recovery challenges can be overcome. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 18, 2011 at 6:00 AM

Energy Stakeholders Ask Senate To Oppose Transmission Bill

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Who builds, owns and ultimately foots the bill for building transmission lines? US policy has long maintained that whoever benefits from transmission lines must help shoulder the costs.

But some claim that a June 2010 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) proposal, which outlined pricing mechanisms for the construction of new transmission lines, defined “benefits” too loosely and that utilities, and ultimately their customers, are unfairly paying the price. Keep reading →

 /  Published July 14, 2011 at 4:00 PM
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