Late last month, FERC issued a notice of proposed rulemaking. Its intent is to “remedy deficiencies in the Commission’s existing regional transmission planning and cost allocation requirements.” In short, it’s time for a 21st Century grid that actually accommodates changes in how electricity is being generated.
I’m not sure I can improve much on FERC’s own summary of the NOPR:
the proposal would require public utility transmission providers to (1) conduct long-term regional transmission planning on a sufficiently forward-looking basis to meet transmission needs driven by changes in the resource mix and demand;… More