The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) is based on an extensive
record: three years of monitoring implementation of Order No. 890,
three regional technical conferences and examination of more than
150 sets of comments filed in response to an October 2009 request
for comment on transmission planning and cost allocation. It
proposes and seeks comment on requiring:
- Transmission providers to establish a closer link between cost
allocation and regional transmission planning by identifying and
establishing cost allocation methods for beneficiaries of new
transmission facilities;
- Transmission planning to take into account needs driven by
public policy requirements established by state or federal laws or
regulations;
- Neighboring transmission planning regions to improve their
coordination with respect to facilities that are proposed to be
constructed in two adjacent regions and could address transmission
needs more efficiently than separate intraregional facilities;
and
- The removal from Commission-approved tariffs or agreements
provisions that provide an undue advantage to an incumbent
developer so that sponsors of transmission projects have the right,
consistent with state or local laws or regulations, to build and
own facilities selected for inclusion in regional transmission
plans.
"Our nation needs a transmission grid that can
accommodate rising consumer demand for a more diverse mix of power
generators and the sophisticated technology of the smart grid,"
FERC Chairman Jon Wellinghoff said. "To do that, we must make sure
FERC transmission policies are open and fair to all."
A significant aspect of the proposal is the requirement that
transmission planning take into account public policy requirements,
such as state-mandated renewable portfolio standards. Doing so
during the transmission planning process will help ensure these
legal requirements are met in a way that is fair and efficient to
transmission customers.
The proposal also ties cost allocation to the regional
transmission planning processes to facilitate the transition from
planning to implementation. This ensures that only those consumers
benefiting from transmission facilities are charged for associated
costs, and gives each region the first opportunity to develop cost
allocation mechanisms and identify how the benefits of transmission
facilities will be determined. Comments are due 60 days after
publication in the Federal Register.
R-10-34
(30)
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