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Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Feds drop plan to consolidate power grid decisions
By Jim Malewitz, Stateline Staff Writer
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The Department of Energy announced Tuesday (October 11) that its plans to upgrade the U.S. energy grid will not include allowing the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to determine which new electrical transmission projects are eligible for fast-track federal permitting. It was a policy reversal cheered by state utilities officials.
A proposal by the Energy Department last month that would have sanctioned new transmission lines sparked criticism from utilities officials representing more than 30 states. They said that the department was centralizing power and that local concerns about land use, environmental impact and the cost of construction would be ignored. There were also fears that litigation of the plan would cause uncertainty in the market.
The Obama administration had hoped the proposal would quicken the construction of job-creating energy projects. It would have given FERC the power not only to permit transmission projects held up by state and local regulatory procedures but to study where the grid is most congested and determine which projects would be eligible for fast-track approval. Transmission developers and federal officials have expressed frustration with a state permitting process that can take a decade to complete.
The administration is now looking at building transmission on federal lands, and will streamline approval for seven projects that would cross twelve states. Developers estimate the seven projects would employ up to 10,750 people during the peak of construction. DOE says some projects would start as early as fall 2012.
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