WASHINGTON – The following is a statement from Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition (ETCC) Chair Paul Cicio on today’s meeting of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), which was focused on transmission reform. FERC commissioners voted to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to address transmission planning and transmission cost allocation issues. FERC also announced that it will be scheduling a Technical Conference in October to address, specifically, the issue of transmission cost mitigation.

“The Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition will carefully review the NOPR announced today by the FERC. At first glance, it is not clear whether the NOPR is consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order on Promoting Competition in the American Economy and if it will actively promote competition in the development of new transmission facilities, which is an essential component to ensuring that any necessary transmission investment delivers net benefits to consumers,” said Cicio. “An in-depth review of transmission cost mitigation and, subsequently, further Commission action to address rapidly increasing transmission costs through, among other things, nationwide deployment of transmission competition is necessary to ensure just and reasonable transmission rates.”

“Of particular concern is the apparent proposal to amend Order No. 1000 to ‘permit the exercise of a federal rights of first refusal (ROFR) for transmission facilities…conditioned on the incumbent transmission provider establishing joint ownership of those facilities.’ FERC should not only hold its ground on eliminating a federal ROFR, but also take steps to get rid of state level ROFRs. In the decade since FERC issued Order No. 1000, which was intended to promote electric transmission competition as a national policy, state level ROFR laws have only served to protect incumbent transmission owners and their ability to charge higher rates – one reason why studies show that only 3% of current transmission projects are subject to competition.”

About the Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition

The Electricity Transmission Competition Coalition (ETCC) is a broad-based, nation-wide coalition committed to increasing competition in America’s electricity transmission infrastructure. We advocate for common-sense policies and solutions that result in competitively priced transmission projects, which reduce energy costs for all ratepayers – from large manufacturers to residential consumers. The ETCC represents a diverse group of more than 70 companies and organizations from all 50 states, including manufacturing groups, retail electric consumers, state consumer advocates, public power representatives, think tanks, and non-incumbent transmission developers.

For more information, visit: www.electricitytransmissioncompetitioncoalition.org.

Press Contact:
Julian Graham
jgraham@signaldc.com